Whether for beginners or experts, kayaking tours san juan islands offer an awesome opportunity to both witness the beauty of Puget Sound and meet one of its most fascinating inhabitants, the orca. Also known as the killer whale, the experience any have with this creature begins and ends with Shamu, the name given to a series of captive orcas. Experiencing these creatures in the wild is a far better way to gain appreciation of their unique place in nature.
## Orcas in the Wild
Though the great apes have long been thought to hold second place to humans in terms of social complexity, scientists now understand that the orca most closely matches humans in this respect. Around the world, researchers have discovered dozens of independent orca communities all exhibiting the characteristics of nomadic foraging tribes.
Orca communities are found to be culturally distinct in several senses. Each tribe has different vocalization patterns matching dialect differences in human language. This maintains tribal cohesion and prevents orcas from simply leaving and joining another tribe. Tribes also differ with each having a distinct diet, hunting methods, and social structure. It is the differing social structures between tribes, and cohesion of tribes, that show orcas to be more complex than all primate species except humans.
## Persisting Threats
The orca community that can be spotted from kayaking tours San Juan islands lives downstream of an increasingly urbanized area. As such, they face the threat of industrial toxins and the habitat destruction this causes. Their primary food source, the Chinook salmon, has been in decline for years due to pollution, over-fishing, and river damming, which has caused a corresponding decline in the number of orcas. Efforts are underway to preserve orca habitat, and kayak tours in Puget Sound offer wider appreciation of the beauty of this creature.