New legal lines are forming in the Pacific Northwest.  Once in place, if you cross them, you're in the realm of the region's most recently listed endangered species: the Puget Sound orcas.

Humans have never made it easy on the orcas. We've hunted and captured them, pulled them from their families and stuck them in theme parks for our own enjoyment. We've exposed them to the poisons we get rid of by sending them down the drain or off in a cloud of smoke.  

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We've done the orcas wrong and must now, by order of the federal government, make it right. Changes are needed in the Puget Sound if the orcas are to survive.

KING 5 Environment Northwest reporter Gary Chittim accompanies top whale experts in taking an unprecedented look into the lives of these complex creatures and the problems they face in the Puget Sound.

One of the most interesting findings is that the internal make up of orca bodies is similar to that of humans. 

“Orcas and humans share some of the same bacteria, but researchers are also finding human bacteria that doesn’t belong in orca bodies,” said Chittim.  “If orcas contract a human-caused bacteria and don’t have built-up immunity to it, scientists fear it could trigger a massive die-off of an already unhealthy population." 

Scientists also hope to strengthen orca populations by enlarging their menu, namely increasing salmon population. It's a rare relationship where two species, the hunter and the hunted, share space on the endangered species list. 

Federal agents are also working to tighten laws to protect the orcas. But as orca habitat reaches more into the human world, it may change the way we build our cities, the way we handle our waste, the way we treat our farms and fields, our streams and rivers. 

Join KING 5 as we examine these issues and take a rare and spectacular journey inside the world of the orcas.