Seattle Now: Fighting to save our 'downtown orcas'

There are orcas in every ocean in the world, but the southern resident killer whales who swim in our backyard are the only population of urban orcas.

This has been great for local whale lovers, but perilous for members of J, K and L pods who have suffered from the capture era, boat noise, lack of salmon and pollution.

Lynda Mapes reports on the environment, including southern resident killer whales, for The Seattle Times. She wrote a book called Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home that explores why our local whales are special, the threats they face and what humans can learn from one of the oldest societies of creatures in the world.