Chatham Strait
Sodden skies and a sea with a dappled surface did not slow most of us from making our way to the bow after the announcement of killer whales. These magnificent creatures were heading towards the ship and at last count, about 24 individuals surrounded us. There were many large males with impressively tall dorsal fins slicing through the water as they surfaced. A cow and calf passed close enough to take identification photos of them. Later we used a catalog of killer whales to identify her as AG 4, a member of the AG pod, individuals known as residents that consume fish and live in large groups.
Tenakee Inlet is a long waterway that pokes far into Chigagof Island. As we passed by an active salmon stream with eagles galore, several of the Naturalists spotted two adult bears, and a juvenile of about three and a half years. It never interacted with the adults during the hour we watched. One of the older individuals quickly grabbed a salmon and ate, while the juvenile ran splashing back and forth across the stream bed and seemed to only consume fish remains.
A dizzying display of wildlife continued to unfold as we cruised north into a very large group of bubblenet-feeding humpback whales. It’s easy to determine the number of animals by counting the flukes as they dive after a bout of feeding. We counted thirteen individuals. Once they dive and encounter herring, the whales push the fish up towards the surface where bubbles work effectively. One individual circles, blowing a ring of bubbles to form a rising column that encircles the fish. Other whales push the school upward as the circling bubble blower “tightens” the net. Next a singer starts the wailing song that acts like the coup de gras, the song that terrifies and panics the fish into a tightly packed school that soon is separated into parcels by the gigantic ascending jaws of the 13 whales. We see the surface erupt first with herring jumping for their lives and then with jaws opening and engulfing fish that are having a very bad day. Over and over we observed this most remarkable behavior, marveling at its complexity and pondering how it could ever have evolved.
Our afternoon hike at Pavlof Harbor was interrupted by a bear that consumed salmon behind a tree. The yelling sounds alerted the bruin to our presence, but it was more interested in the fish than in our sounds. Once the large head poked around the tree to glare at us, its dining area was quickly vacated by a very surprised hiking party.
The bear took many trips down to the falls for more fish as we watched from a distance. It carried each fish back to its eating area, tore it apart and consumed it. Other guests on the shoreline and in kayaks watched the bear appear near the fish ladder at the base of the falls, easily grab another salmon and walk back into the woods. Not long afterwards we were sitting in our own dining area tearing into delicious halibut.
