In 2005, the Southern Resident Killer Whales were enlisted as Endangered. The drop in population was sufficient for the scientists and officials to define the Southern Resident Killer Whales as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Killer Whales are also under the CITES Appendix II, which means that currently, they may be threatened with extinction soon if intervention does not happen.

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The story of Killer Whale endangerment follows a lot of the same beats as many other endangered animal species. As climate change and habitat destruction decreases the amount of prey available, Killer Whales have to deal with a lack of food. As seals lose their habitat from climate change, the ice melts and leaves only sadness and death, the populations begin to crumble. The degradation of the seals population only means danger for the Killer Whales, as they depend on seals for food. But it's not just the lack of food that is degrading Killer Whale populations, oil spills and contaminants are wreaking havoc through them as well. The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was a direct cause of the loss of a huge chunk of Transient Killer Whales, and the contaminants that oil spills leave are definitely not helping. Along with the contaminants from oil spills, pollutants from human sewers, pesticide, and ocean dumping are bioaccumulating directly into the Killer Whale population. While the pollutants may have been spread out on the lower rings of the food chain, it accumulates in apex predators like the Killer Whale. Sadly, it doesn't end there. Killer Whales are the victims of bycatch, becoming entangled in fishing gear that was meant for other animals. These fishing lines and nets can drag the poor animal down, tear chunks into them, or even hold them in place, making them die of starvation. All of these threats, and I haven't even begun to talk about the stress and interference that vessels like ships create with their noise. It's obvious that Killer Whales are facing a lot of dangers, so what's being done to mitigate them? Well, that's where the Recovery Plan comes in.