Watching orcas swimming in the wild on live cam is why we have internet

Thanks to a series of live cameras, the world was witness to Orcas, swimming free, from the months of June to October of this year, chasing salmon as they swam up river near British Columbia, Canada.

Many people around the internet took screen shots and grabbed moving images of the event, giving us close-up images of these majestic creatures in their natural habitat.

"They're observing animals in the wild like no other scientist has ever done, because you can observe it 24 hours a day, seven days a week," says  Charlie Annenberg, a filmmaker and philanthropist who founded the multimedia organization Explore.org, the company responsible for setting up the live feeds.

The 10 cameras, set up around Hanson island captured images, but also the sounds of the Orcas as they moved and played.

"We think they have signature calls (names) and recognize each other," Carl Safina, a conservationist, previously explained in a National Geographic blog post. "We do know they can hear each other over tens of miles."

"The mission is really simple," says Annenberg.  "To allow the public to get up close and personal with nature, with the hope they develop a relationship with the outside world - you take care of that which you love."