Decades-long dataset shows which orcas are most at home in Puget Sound

Southern Resident killer whales in the Salish Sea. Photo taken under NOAA Fisheries Permit #781-1824 Photo: Candice Emmons/NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center Data spanning nearly half a century shows that endangered southern resident killer whales are spending less time in inland waters, whereas their larger cousins, Bigg’s killer whales, are increasingly present in Puget Sound. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration listed southern resident killer whales as endangered in 2005