Top Ten Day Ever in Southeast Alaska
6:30 AM: Awoke to humpback whales breathing right next to the ship.
7:00 AM: Saw a brown bear mother with two cubs foraging on the shore with two humpback whales right next to the ship in the same view. At the same time, a male brown bear was feeding on salmon in a small stream. Oh and it was an amazing sunny morning with spectacular mountaintops as the backdrop to the whales and bears.
8:15 AM: Just finished breakfast and we found a group of 11 humpback whales cooperative bubble-net feeding! We spent most of the morning watching this spectacular behavior. We also lowered our hydrophone to hear the eerie vocalizations made by two of the whales to help corral the herring. Several times the whales dramatically lunged right next to the ship as cameras burned through their memory cards.
12:30 PM: Took a short break for lunch.
Mid-afternoon: Kayaking and zodiac cruising while watching SIX bears feeding on salmon. This included three large adult coastal brown bears and one female with two-and-a-half year-old cubs. We could watch the bears go about their natural behaviors without any human disturbances – BRILLIANT!
6:30 PM: Just before dinner watched two whales double breach right next to the National Geographic Sea Lion.
Days like this are why I love my job and why Alaska is one of my favorite places on the planet! Why aren’t you here?
