Killer whales, which were proposed for threatened status last
year, have instead been listed as endangered by the National
Marine Fisheries Service. Either listing indicates a risk of
extinction and requires that actions by federal agencies not
harm the population of the species. The Fisheries Service
expects that efforts to increase local salmon stocks will
benefit the 89 remaining whales, whose number is up from 79 in
2001 but still lower than the 97 counted in the 1990's. The
whales' small population makes them more vulnerable to disease,
oil spills, toxic chemicals and declining salmon upon which to
feed. Known officially as southern resident killer whales, and
often called orcas, they communicate by emitting high-frequency
sonar, which is increasingly disrupted by vessel traffic. The
whales visit Puget Sound every summer. They can live up to 90
years. L. D. Kirshenbaum (NYT)