Orcas

Killer whales, also known as orcas, are distributed throughout the marine waters of Washington. Four populations are recognized and are referred to as southern residents, northern residents, transients, and offshores. Among these, southern resident and transient (also known as Bigg's) killer whales commonly are found in Puget Sound.

Please see our killer whales topic page for more information. 

Related Articles

An adult and a juvenile killer whale swimming next to each other

Annual census could show an increase of two killer whales among southern residents

The news of two new southern resident orca calves this year marks the 50th anniversary of whale counts from the Center for Whale Research.
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A killer whale swimming in nearshore water with yellow digital acoustic recording tag visible near its dorsal fin and rocky coastline with homes behind.

Orcas by night: A rare look at the nighttime activities of endangered killer whales

Killer whales are active both day and night, but most scientific research focuses on their daytime activities. A recent study looked at a small group of endangered southern residents to find out how often they hunt after the sun goes down. Ocean noise tends to decrease at night, potentially making it easier for the whales to catch salmon, but could they take advantage?
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