A new study has found that male southern resident killer whales are less likely to get scraped up by other whales when they have their post-menopausal mothers by their sides.
A male orca's best friend is his old mother.By analyzing thousands of photos in a computer program, the team found males who lived with post-reproductive mothers had 35 percent fewer tooth rake injuries compared to males who lived with breeding mothers, and 45 percent fewer than those who lived without their mothers.