(soft music) (deckhand) To the right of that shiny spot.

Making giant splashing-- look at that!

(Giles) Yeah, that’s whales.

Good eyes.

Okay.

Everybody hang on.

(hip-hop music) (Shane) This is Deborah Giles, or as most people know her, Giles.

She’s been studying orcas, also known as killer whales, for nearly 20 years.

But it’s her newest assistant who might just be the team’s MVP.

♪ (dog barks) (Giles) She’s trying to orient to smell.

-Okay.

-And then, as we’re coming into the scent cone, she’ll move to the front of the bow, she’ll start maybe whining.

(Shane) Okay, but she’s basically your poop compass.

(Giles) She is our poop compass.

The tip of her nose is gonna point us at that smell.

-Okay.

-And then she’s working for playtime, that’s her reward, is playtime.

(Shane) Aww.

You heard that right.

The hero of Giles’s research is an Orca-poop-sniffing pooch named Eba.

(quirky music) ♪ (Giles) We go in and we collect the scat sample off the water.

(solemn music) (Shane) Whale poop can yield a smorgasbord of data with minimal disturbance.

DNA identifies the pooper, while other tests paint a detailed picture of the whale’s diet, hormones, and overall health.

Giles is monitoring these orcas, a distinct population known as the southern resident killer whales-- because they’re in deep trouble.

(Giles) So, 70% of the females in this population who are getting pregnant are unable to bring their calves to term.

So, they’re miscarrying or the baby is born alive and dies right away, 70%.

How long is an orca pregnant before she gives birth?

Seventeen months.

(Shane) Wow.

Long time.

(grim music) (news anchor) A mother orca whose calf died after birth is still carrying her baby, 17 days later.

♪ (Shane) The southern residents aren’t the only orcas in the Salish Sea, but they are the most endangered.

(Giles) By far the biggest problem is the lack of prey.

(melancholic music) (Shane) Most orcas hunt other mammals, but the southern residents prefer fish.

(Giles) The fish eaters are dictated by what mom says, what grandmother says.

These are matriarchal societies.

(Shane) The southern residents are particularly reliant on Chinook or King salmon, which have declined by more than 90% in the last century.

Without the salmon, orca mothers are starving and many can’t carry their babies to term.

Despite legal protection, the population is still dwindling.

♪