The sun glimmers off a towering dorsal fin, slicing through the waters like an onyx knife. In a mere instant, the mighty creature bursts through the water, its tail quickly slapping against the water signaling a playful hello. It’s a magic unlike any other, and you can’t help but feel your skin tingle knowing you are in the presence of our cherished orcas. Impressive and fascinating creatures by any measure, there is a mystical quality that draws us to seek out these magnificent marine mammals that have occupied our waters for hundreds of years.

Celebrate these iconic species during Orca Month and take the opportunity to reflect on the threats facing our local orca population and what we can do to help them with a weekend full of fascinating events. Of course, you can also scope out our orca locals by hopping on one of our whale watching tours from Seattle and meeting them in person. Until then, here are 10 epic photos of these amazing creatures to help inspire your next trip.

Clipper Whale Watching

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This is World Oceans Week and we are taking this opportunity to collaborate with some of our partners in ocean conservation to show that we, as champions for the sea, also, do not exist in complete isolation from each other. Today, we acknowledge @oceansinitiative, a team of scientists on a mission to protect marine life, including whales, dolphins, sharks, salmon & seabirds, that operates primarily in the Pacific Northwest & beyond. ⠀ ⠀ One of their current projects focusses ocean noise. "Sound is as important to many marine species as vision is to humans. Sound travels farther and faster in water than in air, whereas vision is only useful to whales at ranges of a few body lengths at most. Our acoustic ecology work addresses two aspects: the role of sound in the ecology and predator-prey interactions of marine wildlife; and the extent to which human-made noise disrupts those processes." – from The Ocean Initiative website. ⠀ ⠀ Photo: @PaulNicklen, Orcas offshore, near Tofino, British Columbia⠀ ⠀ *⠀ *⠀ *⠀ ⠀ @lonelywhale, @oceana, @conservationorg, @natgeopristineseas, @wwf, @mission_blue, @savingoceans, ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ #WorldOceansDay l #WorldOceansWeek l #ClimateChangeisReal l #OceanConferernce l #SalishSea l #SeaLegacyGivesBack l #TheWatersEdge l #SaveOurOcean l #speakfornature l #follow @oceansinitiative | #orcaawarenessmonth

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Jpod ended up passing by San Juan Island this evening! Let's hope the salmon is here! #visitsanjuans #visitseattle #srkw #killerwhale #orca

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With our glorious and cherished summer days finally kicking off, you’ll have more “orcatunities” than ever to catch sight of these majestic marine mammals as they jump, splash and play in our local waters. Whether it is your first time spotting these magnificent marine mammals or one of many, we’d love to hear your stories and see your photos. Be sure to share them in the comments or on  FacebookTwitter or Instagram. Have a whale of a time!

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