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Comment by lordnacho | Hacker News Reader

How do they decide who to offer stuff to? There's a bunch of creatures in the ocean, why would they offer things to humans?

Also, do people ever give the orca anything they want?

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Maybe they are just curious or doing it for whimsy sake. They have been observed to wear salmon on their heads for no apparent reason… we do all sorts of odd stuff due to a temporary surplus of brainpower.

I found the news hilarious. Orcas used to wear salmon hats back in the 80s, then the trend disappeared, only to make a comeback in recent years. It really feels like they have their own version of human fashion trends or group behavior. The funniest part is that their fashion statement is a dead salmon instead of clothes.

https://web.archive.org/web/20251001135117/https://www.natio...

Leopard seals, the apex predator of the Sourthern Ocean near Antarctica, have been known to bring penguins as gifts to divers. When the divers didn't take the chicken dinner, they helpfully killed it, so the diver could eat.

Disappointingly to them, no doubt, the divers still didn't dig in. But it's the thought that counts. Literally, since leopard seals can easily kill humans in the sea and on the land.

Anyway, mammals are capable of thoughtful behaviors towards others outside their own species.

As I'd just commented myself. Link: <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/140311-...>

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