One of the most incredible and elusive animals in Southeast Alaska is the orca, or killer whale. With good luck, we spotted a huge group traveling south in Chatham Strait. Soon our boat was surrounded by puffs and blows as the animals rose from the waves to breathe. Some were quite close to us, while others were specks in our binoculars. A band of about a dozen swam alongside our vessel, occasionally spy-hopping and tail-slapping. This one finally leapt from the water in a series of breaches. Was it celebration? Communication? Or hoping the boat beside them would join in their antics? We stayed with them for hours, watching their dorsal fins cleave the water and spray from their blowholes whip away in the wind. Photographer: Emily Mount