We had one heck of a day aboard National Geographic Venture as we adventured through a marine provincial park in British Columbia. The morning was spent traversing through mudflats to explore a unique ecosystem in this region. The rising tide added an element of intrigue as we made our way back from our hikes. Our afternoon took advantage of that high tide and featured a Zodiac ride up a river that led to salmon streaming by the boats. Not all the salmon were in the best condition though; many were zombified after giving everything they had to their future offspring. It was interesting to see in person the mantra, “spawn till you die.” Luckily, it is not a sad sight to see the salmon in this stage, because they will continue to contribute to their habitat by feeding the surrounding forest; as their bodies decompose over time they will deposit the nutrients that created them back to the land and trees.
9/14/2024
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National Geographic Venture
Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbia
The fjords of the Great Bear Rainforest rarely give a free pass without an excess of humidity. But today, what appeared to be a light rain quickly proved to be a mere bit of seasonal dew. Today’s destination was an island known for its population of bears with a very exclusive set of genes. These bears, described by William Hornaday for his friend Frank Kermode, belong to the only population of American black bears on Earth that contains a small subset of all white, non-albino individuals — the spirit bears. As we were preparing to load our Zodiacs for the first round of hikes, we were surprised by an announcement from the bridge: a spirit bear had been spotted at the mouth of the river that we were to hike along. Since sightings of this mythical beast are so rare, all preparations were put on hold, so that as many guests as possible could view this ghostly being from our bow. Once the white bear had faded from sight we resumed our debarkation. When we arrived at the viewing platforms, we found ourselves at the edge of a stream that was full of spawning salmon! Immersed as we were in this land of life and death, our allotted time slipped by in a flash. Returning to the ship, we began cocktail hour, only to be treated to an amazing display of group bubble-net feeding by the local humpbacks! It simply does not get any better than this! Photographers: Jeff Campbell, Naturalist , and Alex Joseph, Certified Photo Instructor