Whale Soup, Icy Straight
The first seven days of our trip have proved that the greatness of Alaska’s Inside Passage shows no boundaries. Today proved to be no different.
Our animal sightings began early this morning with a raft of sea otters popping their heads in and out of the water, lounging on their backs with their adorable little paws pulled up towards their faces. These little creatures appear so cute and playful, one is tempted to join them in the water.
The morning continued with a short trip to Idaho Inlet where the Sea Bird explorers were given the opportunity to discover yet another of Alaska’s secret treasures. The highlight of visiting this inlet was having the rare opportunity to see “The Old Bear Trails,”. These are trails which have been followed by generations of bears. They are formed by the imbedded imprints of the bears’ paws in the ground. Their rear paw steps in the same place as the front paw creating only two prints per bear as opposed to the assumed four. Other bears do not create new prints they follow the ones before them, thus creating large and distinct oval divits in the moss. Along the bear trails we also saw a limited number of flowers. The majority of fauna has as of yet to bloom; however, the ground was still littered with shooting stars. Many also had the opportunity to kayak through the area, taking in the majestic landscape from the water.
After lunch we cruised down Icy Strait and found ourselves in the midst of Whale Soup. Our whale adventure began with a breaching humpback, when a botanist noticed a large dorsal fin off in the distance. We were skeptical at first; it seemed almost too good to be true. Yet after a marine mammal specialist confirmed the sighting, we pushed ahead at full speed. Once we were in the thick of the soup we found it difficult to choose which group of orcas to follow. We had stumbled into a large number of the AF pod of orcas in addition to humpbacks, sea otters, porpoises, Steller sea lions, and bald eagles. It was enough to satisfy any nature lover’s appetite.
We watched the pod of orcas feeding on salmon with the matriarch orca seizing the fish in her mouth, then trashing back and forth in the water extricating pieces of the fish to feed to its young. It was amazing to witness the maternal instinct of the mother orca.
Due to time restrictions we were forced to part from our new marine mammal friends and continue onward to Inian Cove, a haul out site for the Steller Sea Lions.
Inian Cove rests in the heart of the Inian Islands. After a short Zodiac cruise into the cove we began to hear the roar of the sea lions. These massive animals, which can reach up to 2200 pounds, rest in this ideal spot free of predators. The animals, not the least bit skittish around the Zodiacs, as they swam right along the side of us making for an ideal photo opportunity.
Another awe-inspiring day has come to an end as we enjoy the sunlit night of an Alaskan summer.
The first seven days of our trip have proved that the greatness of Alaska’s Inside Passage shows no boundaries. Today proved to be no different.
Our animal sightings began early this morning with a raft of sea otters popping their heads in and out of the water, lounging on their backs with their adorable little paws pulled up towards their faces. These little creatures appear so cute and playful, one is tempted to join them in the water.
The morning continued with a short trip to Idaho Inlet where the Sea Bird explorers were given the opportunity to discover yet another of Alaska’s secret treasures. The highlight of visiting this inlet was having the rare opportunity to see “The Old Bear Trails,”. These are trails which have been followed by generations of bears. They are formed by the imbedded imprints of the bears’ paws in the ground. Their rear paw steps in the same place as the front paw creating only two prints per bear as opposed to the assumed four. Other bears do not create new prints they follow the ones before them, thus creating large and distinct oval divits in the moss. Along the bear trails we also saw a limited number of flowers. The majority of fauna has as of yet to bloom; however, the ground was still littered with shooting stars. Many also had the opportunity to kayak through the area, taking in the majestic landscape from the water.
After lunch we cruised down Icy Strait and found ourselves in the midst of Whale Soup. Our whale adventure began with a breaching humpback, when a botanist noticed a large dorsal fin off in the distance. We were skeptical at first; it seemed almost too good to be true. Yet after a marine mammal specialist confirmed the sighting, we pushed ahead at full speed. Once we were in the thick of the soup we found it difficult to choose which group of orcas to follow. We had stumbled into a large number of the AF pod of orcas in addition to humpbacks, sea otters, porpoises, Steller sea lions, and bald eagles. It was enough to satisfy any nature lover’s appetite.
We watched the pod of orcas feeding on salmon with the matriarch orca seizing the fish in her mouth, then trashing back and forth in the water extricating pieces of the fish to feed to its young. It was amazing to witness the maternal instinct of the mother orca.
Due to time restrictions we were forced to part from our new marine mammal friends and continue onward to Inian Cove, a haul out site for the Steller Sea Lions.
Inian Cove rests in the heart of the Inian Islands. After a short Zodiac cruise into the cove we began to hear the roar of the sea lions. These massive animals, which can reach up to 2200 pounds, rest in this ideal spot free of predators. The animals, not the least bit skittish around the Zodiacs, as they swam right along the side of us making for an ideal photo opportunity.
Another awe-inspiring day has come to an end as we enjoy the sunlit night of an Alaskan summer.
