Kelp Bay & Chatham Strait
Whales and bears and… banana slugs?? Yes, indeed- these were some of the highlights of our first day exploring southeast Alaska. Pre-breakfast whales had the stretch class working out on the railings to combine exercise and breaching humpback whales. By mid-morning we had moved on to the land and into the dark and wild old-growth forest on Pond Island. Bear sign was everywhere, from the scat found throughout the forest to the beach meadow grasses that have been recently grazed. The bears that inhabit this area are coastal brown bears, and because of a diet rich in salmon, male bears can easily reach one thousand pounds. These are the same species of bear as the smaller European brown bear and the infamous grizzly bear that rules the interior. Kayakers paddled through the quiet water around the island while another humpback whale fed along the distant shore and several harbor seals curiously surveyed the outing.
In the afternoon we cruised leisurely and northerly in Chatham Strait, stopping at magnificent Kasniku Falls and watching several humpback mother and calf pairs. The humpbacks have recently arrived at their rich feeding grounds here in Southeast, following a long migration north from their winter home off the Hawaiian Islands. We tucked into Sitkoh Bay for a look at the shoreline, and two, no five, brown bears appeared, one to port, one to starboard, and three in the meadow at the head of the bay.
Boy, what first day, you might exclaim, but there was more to come- during dinner the watchful bridge reported a pod of killer whales on the starboard side. About a dozen of these beautiful and intriguing animals made a several circuits of the ship, and carrying our cameras and binoculars, so did we.
Whales and bears and… banana slugs?? Yes, indeed- these were some of the highlights of our first day exploring southeast Alaska. Pre-breakfast whales had the stretch class working out on the railings to combine exercise and breaching humpback whales. By mid-morning we had moved on to the land and into the dark and wild old-growth forest on Pond Island. Bear sign was everywhere, from the scat found throughout the forest to the beach meadow grasses that have been recently grazed. The bears that inhabit this area are coastal brown bears, and because of a diet rich in salmon, male bears can easily reach one thousand pounds. These are the same species of bear as the smaller European brown bear and the infamous grizzly bear that rules the interior. Kayakers paddled through the quiet water around the island while another humpback whale fed along the distant shore and several harbor seals curiously surveyed the outing.
In the afternoon we cruised leisurely and northerly in Chatham Strait, stopping at magnificent Kasniku Falls and watching several humpback mother and calf pairs. The humpbacks have recently arrived at their rich feeding grounds here in Southeast, following a long migration north from their winter home off the Hawaiian Islands. We tucked into Sitkoh Bay for a look at the shoreline, and two, no five, brown bears appeared, one to port, one to starboard, and three in the meadow at the head of the bay.
Boy, what first day, you might exclaim, but there was more to come- during dinner the watchful bridge reported a pod of killer whales on the starboard side. About a dozen of these beautiful and intriguing animals made a several circuits of the ship, and carrying our cameras and binoculars, so did we.
