For a minute, close your eyes and envision yourself on the deck of a 55-foot whale watch vessel in the San Juan Islands. We're looking at a pod of Transient killer whales about 300 yards off our bow, surfacing regularly as they move across the channel in search of their next meal. The water is glassy and the most beautiful green color, barely disturbed by the graceful movement of these animals as their dorsal fins slice across the surface like menacing black knives. The sun is gleaming overhead, the breeze is cold and refreshing, and we're surrounded by the beauty of the San Juan archipelago. We're talking about whales.

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