East Coast of Chichagof Island
Alaska is a vast place where everything looms large – broad sweeping views, boundless tracts of rainforest, running ridges of mountains, broken mazes of oceanic fjords. In all these places you can discover large lifeforms that inhabit this great northern land. Today we came upon remarkable mega-organisms.
Within Chichagof Island’s long trapezoidal Freshwater Bay were poignant icons of wilderness – grizzly bears. At morning’s first coffee we observed a dark-coated bear foraging along a tidal stream flat. After anchoring and going ashore farther out the bay, hikers encountered a gray-streaked brown bear, within the trees and then again later seeking spawning salmon along the stream to Lake Pavlof. Somewhat alarmed by our presence this beautiful creature retreated to the cover of the forest not before giving both hikers and kayakers lasting views.
Above the weir and fish ladder where salmon are counted, stood a centuries-old ‘old growth’ Sitka spruce tree that required seven of us holding hands to encircle – true mega-flora. We reached a commanding view over the lake where we spotted yet another bear, this one running off with a large salmon in its mouth.
Bears are impressive terrestrial mega-fauna, yet it is the sea where one truly finds large creatures. And today we came upon a mother lode – a tight synchronous group of sixteen or more humpback whales. The whales were displaying one of the ocean’s most dramatic sights – surface lunge feeding.
With the expert commentary of visiting whale researcher Dr. Fred Sharpe, we watched a succession of diving flukes amid steaming columns of whale breath, listened via hydrophone broadcast to quavering trumpet calls (even beautiful duets at times), then amazed at the throng of wide mouths and expanded throat pouches that burst forth from the water (see photo). We watched (and listened to) multiple cycles of this artful ‘bubblenet feeding’ through the afternoon. This was one of the larger sized groups observed engaged in this behavior – not merely large animals were they, but charismatic mega-fauna en masse. It was indeed a big day.
Alaska is a vast place where everything looms large – broad sweeping views, boundless tracts of rainforest, running ridges of mountains, broken mazes of oceanic fjords. In all these places you can discover large lifeforms that inhabit this great northern land. Today we came upon remarkable mega-organisms.
Within Chichagof Island’s long trapezoidal Freshwater Bay were poignant icons of wilderness – grizzly bears. At morning’s first coffee we observed a dark-coated bear foraging along a tidal stream flat. After anchoring and going ashore farther out the bay, hikers encountered a gray-streaked brown bear, within the trees and then again later seeking spawning salmon along the stream to Lake Pavlof. Somewhat alarmed by our presence this beautiful creature retreated to the cover of the forest not before giving both hikers and kayakers lasting views.
Above the weir and fish ladder where salmon are counted, stood a centuries-old ‘old growth’ Sitka spruce tree that required seven of us holding hands to encircle – true mega-flora. We reached a commanding view over the lake where we spotted yet another bear, this one running off with a large salmon in its mouth.
Bears are impressive terrestrial mega-fauna, yet it is the sea where one truly finds large creatures. And today we came upon a mother lode – a tight synchronous group of sixteen or more humpback whales. The whales were displaying one of the ocean’s most dramatic sights – surface lunge feeding.
With the expert commentary of visiting whale researcher Dr. Fred Sharpe, we watched a succession of diving flukes amid steaming columns of whale breath, listened via hydrophone broadcast to quavering trumpet calls (even beautiful duets at times), then amazed at the throng of wide mouths and expanded throat pouches that burst forth from the water (see photo). We watched (and listened to) multiple cycles of this artful ‘bubblenet feeding’ through the afternoon. This was one of the larger sized groups observed engaged in this behavior – not merely large animals were they, but charismatic mega-fauna en masse. It was indeed a big day.
