Background photo: Collected under NMES/NOAA research permit 21238

“You can’t make this story up…a pound dog that is out saving killer whales.”

Chris Morgan, wildlife ecologist, conservationist, filmmaker and host of the podcast THE WILD, takes us on a research vessel in the San Juan Islands to witness Eba, an orca-scat-sniffing dog. The scat tells the story of the challenges the orcas are facing—from toxicity and stress levels to reproductive health and more. Chris uncovers some brilliant work that has already been done to help orcas and what you can do to help.

“We know what we need to do and it’s actually not that huge…Nature is resilient, humans are resilient, and the whales are resilient…We can see this population recover and rebound and we have a responsibility to do it.”

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Help us share these stories and inspire action to protect this amazing waterway of the Pacific Northwest.

Take action for orcas

Orcas use sound to communicate, navigate and hunt for the increasingly scarce salmon that are the mainstay of their diets—but underwater noise pollution makes those activities much more difficult. You can make a difference for our local endangered southern resident orcas!

Raise your voice

  • Contact your state and federal legislators to urge them to pass policies and allocate funding to protect orcas by reducing noise and disturbance, increasing salmon abundance and eliminating toxic pollution. (Not sure who your legislators are? This website can help you find your state representatives; this one will help with federal representatives.)
  • Visit our broader take action page for current advocacy opportunities.

Learn and share

  • Help educate others by sharing this video on social media and with friends and family who enjoy boating.
  • Participate in Orca Action Month events and activities each June.

Make easy lifestyle changes

  • Protect the salmon that orcas rely on as their main source of food—visit our salmon page and broader take action page to discover how you can help.
  • Boat and watch responsibly.
  • Decrease pollutants entering local waterways and stormwater runoff.
    • Use commercial car washes that treat wastewater. Fix leaks in your car to keep oil, antifreeze and other fluids from landing on the pavement and entering gutters or stormwater drains.
    • Reduce waste by reusing, reducing, recycling and composting. If buying new, look for products with minimal packaging and bring your own shopping bags.
    • Prevent liquid and solid waste from entering gutters or stormwater drains. Review your city’s or county’s website for disposal options, such as the Hazardous Waste Management Program for King County or the Rainwise program for Seattle.
    • Choose non-toxic, environmentally friendly household and yard products. Even far from the water, nearly everything that goes down your drain or washes into storm drains and creeks eventually ends up in the sea.
    • Pick up your pet’s waste and put it in the trash bin (not the compost bin!).
    • Dispose of unused medications safely. Find a drop box near you at Take Back Your Meds.
    • Build a rain garden on your property to capture runoff from your roof to allow water to slowly seep into the soil and be filtered naturally.
  • See more ideas on our take action page!

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Donate to the Seattle Aquarium to the Seattle Aquarium and be a critical part of helping to advance our conservation education programs and advocacy work.

Discover more

Learn what others are doing to protect orcas, their habitat and our one world ocean—and get tips on how you can do the same!

The Seattle Aquarium thanks the James M. Lea Foundation for its generous financial support for this video series.

Thank you also to the video production team at Soulcraft Allstars and Chris Morgan for their invaluable contributions.