Pavlof Harbor and Tenekee Inlet, Chichagof Island, Alaska
Bears, whales, and a wee bit of rain - that was our day. Southeast Alaska provides each of these in abundance, but today was off the scale of excellence in all three! We began in Pavlof Harbor, where a small river descends steeply over the rocks and into Freshwater Bay. By foot, by Zodiak, by kayak, we converged at the base of the waterfall, only to find it already occupied … by a sow brown bear with her two cubs of the year. One cub was a very dark chocolate brown; the other was quickly nicknamed Blondie. The bears were reaping the rich harvest of salmon returning from the sea to spawn in the stream and lake above the falls. Mother was a model of fishing skill; the cubs still have much to learn. Dead fish littered the riverbank in various degrees of consumption. Bears concentrate on the fat-rich tissues – brains and eggs, the better to fatten for their coming winter sleep. At first glance it might seem wasteful, but the salmon remains feed other forest inhabitants like eagles and ravens and fertilize the forest with nutrients brought from the sea. We all enjoyed an extended moment spent watching this magnificent monarch of the forest.
And then there were whales. Aboard the Sea Lion, we moved northward, poking into bays and inlets in search of humpback whales. We found them – at first the tall spouts of lone whales, then a concentration of whales blowing together, and then descending as a group into the water below. We had found a group of whales engaged in cooperative bubble-net feeding – a behavior that is unique to Southeast Alaska. The whales descend in search of a school of small fish – usually herring. They concentrate the fish by flashing the white underside of their enormously long pectoral fins. They then circle the fish and one whale releases a stream of bubbles to form a curtain that further concentrates the school. A vocal signal is given by one whale, and suddenly they ascend through the bubble net and burst as one onto the surface, huge mouths agape, each whale engulfing tons of water and, hopefully, many pounds of prey. Screams of delight came from the foredeck with each repetition. We watched four whales perform their act over and over, using the ship’s hydrophone to listen for the vocal signal. We spotted another, larger group – perhaps twelve whales in unison - feeding in the same way. And then, for reasons known only to the whales, two whales threw their massive bodies entirely free of the water and became airborne in a magnificent synchronized double breach. It was repeated, this time by three whales. These behaviors leave us in awe of the complexities of animal behavior, and full of unanswered questions. How do the whales coordinate their behavior? How is the leader chosen and roles assigned? What inspires the whales to suddenly breach, and what communication passes between them? And how many herring does it take to fuel a breach? May we never cease to wonder!
Bears, whales, and a wee bit of rain - that was our day. Southeast Alaska provides each of these in abundance, but today was off the scale of excellence in all three! We began in Pavlof Harbor, where a small river descends steeply over the rocks and into Freshwater Bay. By foot, by Zodiak, by kayak, we converged at the base of the waterfall, only to find it already occupied … by a sow brown bear with her two cubs of the year. One cub was a very dark chocolate brown; the other was quickly nicknamed Blondie. The bears were reaping the rich harvest of salmon returning from the sea to spawn in the stream and lake above the falls. Mother was a model of fishing skill; the cubs still have much to learn. Dead fish littered the riverbank in various degrees of consumption. Bears concentrate on the fat-rich tissues – brains and eggs, the better to fatten for their coming winter sleep. At first glance it might seem wasteful, but the salmon remains feed other forest inhabitants like eagles and ravens and fertilize the forest with nutrients brought from the sea. We all enjoyed an extended moment spent watching this magnificent monarch of the forest.
And then there were whales. Aboard the Sea Lion, we moved northward, poking into bays and inlets in search of humpback whales. We found them – at first the tall spouts of lone whales, then a concentration of whales blowing together, and then descending as a group into the water below. We had found a group of whales engaged in cooperative bubble-net feeding – a behavior that is unique to Southeast Alaska. The whales descend in search of a school of small fish – usually herring. They concentrate the fish by flashing the white underside of their enormously long pectoral fins. They then circle the fish and one whale releases a stream of bubbles to form a curtain that further concentrates the school. A vocal signal is given by one whale, and suddenly they ascend through the bubble net and burst as one onto the surface, huge mouths agape, each whale engulfing tons of water and, hopefully, many pounds of prey. Screams of delight came from the foredeck with each repetition. We watched four whales perform their act over and over, using the ship’s hydrophone to listen for the vocal signal. We spotted another, larger group – perhaps twelve whales in unison - feeding in the same way. And then, for reasons known only to the whales, two whales threw their massive bodies entirely free of the water and became airborne in a magnificent synchronized double breach. It was repeated, this time by three whales. These behaviors leave us in awe of the complexities of animal behavior, and full of unanswered questions. How do the whales coordinate their behavior? How is the leader chosen and roles assigned? What inspires the whales to suddenly breach, and what communication passes between them? And how many herring does it take to fuel a breach? May we never cease to wonder!