Al saw his first killer whales (orcas) in the wild at age seven.  Today the orcas of J, K, and L pod visit the waters near Dolphin Place in search of the chum salmon runs upon which they eat.

The orcas of the Pacific Northwest inland waters are the same species as the other killer whales in the world, but with what could be termed a "cultural" difference.  Most of the world' killer whales eat intelligent prey such as dolphins and whales.  Due to their prey scattering when the killer whales echo-locate, these world orcas do not use their natural sonar much, and do not form societies.

The Puget Sound orcas eat salmon that don't run from the echolocation and thus these orcas end up communicating with each other.  They then end up living in large families known as pods. They also seem to be more receptive to mankind than the "wild" orcas.