A team of citizen scientists has managed to capture footage of orcas engaging in French kissing, also known as “tongue nibbling,” in the wild.
The footage was captured by citizen science snorkelers Michael Estevez and Allison Kelly Estevez in the sheltered waters of northern Norway’s Kvænangen Fjord. The team observed two adult orcas engaging in a nearly two-minute dance of tongue nibbling.
This prolonged “kiss” represents the first time such sustained, affectionate mouth-to-mouth contact has been recorded in the wild for this species, adding another layer of complexity to our understanding of the orca’s social repertoire. This is a new activity for orcas, although similarly gentle “tongue bites” have been observed among beluga whales, especially juveniles, who use the gesture for both play and social grooming.
The team noted in their observation that neither animal displayed flared pectoral fins, rapid tail slaps or other stress signals, leading scientists to propose several hypotheses.
For young orcas, such behavior may strengthen familial or pod bonds; in adults, it could serve as a form of grooming or even a playful pastime unique to this pod.
On the other hand, an intriguing possibility is that, like the salmon-hat phenomenon, tongue nibbling may represent a localized “cultural” trend passed among individuals in a population.
You can check out a video of the two amorous Norwegian orcas below.
