The Imperiled Orcas of the Salish Sea

The southern resident killer whales are on the brink. Now the scientists who study them are, too

- BY KELSO HARPER | PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEFFERY DELVISCIO

LIKE MANY PEOPLE WHO VISIT SAN JUAN ISLAND, I came here for the orcas.

This little patch of forest and farmland off the coast of Washington State is one of the best places in the world to encounter them. But you can't schedule an orca sighting, so on a sunny July day I was killing time, wandering a lush meadow, when a bolt of adrenaline struck: I had missed three calls from Deborah Giles, a researcher at the SeaDoc Society, a marine science nonprofit. The southern residents had been spotted nearby for the first time in months. I had 40 minutes to meet her on the far side of the island.

The southern resident orcas have lived off the coast of the Pacific Northwest for thousands of years. They don't associate with any of the estimated 50,000 other orcas living around the world, even those who share the same home waters. They have their own language, customs and culture, and they are the most studied population of orcas on Earth. But because of human encroachment on the shores and waters of their territory, they are in dire trouble.

I arrived at Giles's mooring just moments before she did. She lives on whale time, meaning she will drop anything to get on the water with southern residents, the focus of her research. She told me she hasn't taken a vacation away from San Juan Island in years—it's just not relaxing. What if the southern residents appear while she's gone?