The Iyoukeen bubblenet warriors were in full battle mode today!
The Iyoukeen (pronounced eye-u-keen) peninsula, located along the east shore of Chichagof is known as a hot spot for humpback whale cooperative feeding activity during the later part of the summer. There had been reports floating around the VHF airways that the warriors were in action. The M/V Sea Bird happened upon a group of them who, at first, were simply swimming and diving and checking out the productivity. A few audible war cry trumpets filled the air and then the whales disappeared to the depths in search of prey. The gulls in the area were excited by this behavior as it became obvious to us they had seen the whales here before and knew what was about to happen.
The ability of animals to communicate beyond simple utterances of “I am here”- usually a bark, roar, hiss, chirp, or one note call is rare. Marine mammals have developed the ability to know their surroundings through the media of sound. Humpback whales have taken communication and sound a step further by adding in the visual tool of bubbles to their arsenal. One whale blows bubbles below a group of fish while others flash their long white pectoral fins. Other trumpets blew loudly below the fish, scaring them into a shoal that is further tightened by the ever closing bubblenet. The fish attempt to escape the only direction they have left – UP.
What we witnessed was the end of this dramatic series of actions and cooperation, the payoff both for us and the whales. At the waters surface, a few bubbles would appear and begin the net which was formed by the ring of bubbles, then the birds would swoop in on the ever increasing ring waiting for the prize; next, a flash of light blue and white as the flukes of a few whales neared the surface. The small fish would then reach their ceiling, the waters surface, followed quickly by the warriors as they burst up mouths agape filling with tons of water and hundreds of fish. The whales are very close to one another, but still well choreographed. Pleats distended, baleen visible, top palette exposed, they lunge forth in repeated synchronicity. It is truly one of the more amazing displays witnessed in the natural world.
The Iyoukeen (pronounced eye-u-keen) peninsula, located along the east shore of Chichagof is known as a hot spot for humpback whale cooperative feeding activity during the later part of the summer. There had been reports floating around the VHF airways that the warriors were in action. The M/V Sea Bird happened upon a group of them who, at first, were simply swimming and diving and checking out the productivity. A few audible war cry trumpets filled the air and then the whales disappeared to the depths in search of prey. The gulls in the area were excited by this behavior as it became obvious to us they had seen the whales here before and knew what was about to happen.
The ability of animals to communicate beyond simple utterances of “I am here”- usually a bark, roar, hiss, chirp, or one note call is rare. Marine mammals have developed the ability to know their surroundings through the media of sound. Humpback whales have taken communication and sound a step further by adding in the visual tool of bubbles to their arsenal. One whale blows bubbles below a group of fish while others flash their long white pectoral fins. Other trumpets blew loudly below the fish, scaring them into a shoal that is further tightened by the ever closing bubblenet. The fish attempt to escape the only direction they have left – UP.
What we witnessed was the end of this dramatic series of actions and cooperation, the payoff both for us and the whales. At the waters surface, a few bubbles would appear and begin the net which was formed by the ring of bubbles, then the birds would swoop in on the ever increasing ring waiting for the prize; next, a flash of light blue and white as the flukes of a few whales neared the surface. The small fish would then reach their ceiling, the waters surface, followed quickly by the warriors as they burst up mouths agape filling with tons of water and hundreds of fish. The whales are very close to one another, but still well choreographed. Pleats distended, baleen visible, top palette exposed, they lunge forth in repeated synchronicity. It is truly one of the more amazing displays witnessed in the natural world.
