Lions & Otters, & Whales, Oh My!
The bounty of Southeast Alaska is amazing. Today we were treated to a sampling of the richness of this beautiful temperate rainforest surrounded by nutrient-rich waters. Steller sea lions feasting on salmon, sea otters foraging for shell fish, and humpback whales working current lines and feeding on herring were highlights of our day in Fox Creek and the Inian Islands.
At first light, in gentle rain, and silky calm seas, sea otters greeted early risers on National Geographic Sea Bird. In almost every direction you looked from the bow, there were sea otters, more than twenty individuals. One otter was holding a rock with its retractable claws on its front paws, and using it as a tool to crack open a clam for breakfast. Other otters were diving, using their long flat tails and webbed hind feet, searching for food. Sea otters are the largest members of the weasel family and the smallest of the marine mammals.
After hiking along the banks and in the meadow at Fox Creek, we toured the Inian Islands in our fleet of Zodiacs. Here close to Cross Sound, where Southeast Alaska’s inland passage opens to the Pacific Ocean, we watched gregarious Steller sea lions and listened to these bachelors grumble and growl on rock haul-outs where they gather. Sea lions are excellent divers and are opportunistic feeders, but prefer fresh fish this time of year. We observed one sea lion swallowing a fish whole, leaving no scraps for the glaucous gulls that were flying close overhead. A photographic highlight was when the Steller sea lions would swim up to the Zodiac and play in our wake.
Humpback whales were also taking advantage of the abundance where the inside passage meets open sea. Humpbacks seemed to be working in small pods to push prey into the coastline using the natural edge and shallow water to increase the number fish in every gulp. In between sub-surface lunges the whales would surface for breaths close and loud enough to turn our heads. Tufted and horned puffins, and a bald eagle flew overhead. Waterfalls danced down glacier-carved walls. And an elusive river otter cruised the kelp beds near shore.
Lions & Otters, & Whales, Oh My, what an amazing day!
