Freshwater Bay
Words really don’t describe what we witnessed this afternoon. While finishing a deck lunch under blue skies, a large group of humpback whales was spotted. We headed towards them and realized they were cooperatively feeding. Now I will try to describe this, but you really have to be a witness to understand it all. Ten humpbacks were together, at the surface, breathing and then fluking for a deeper dive. As they disappear, the water is glassy flat and everything is quiet to our ears until a few bubbles start appearing. In the midst of these bubbles, all ten whales erupt through the still water, mouths agape. Everyone on board screams in delight as fish jump, water boils, and whales feast. The whales slowly settle, pushing the water out through their baleens as they swallow their lunch.
What is going on under the water is even more mesmerizing. We drop a hydrophone and listen as one whale “screams,” helping to herd the fish. As it concentrates the fish with noise, a second whale is blowing a curtain of bubbles in a circle. The fish, probably herring in our case, huddle into a petrified ball. The whales enter the circle of bubbles through the bottom and rush towards the surface, mouth agape. The throat pleats expand, sometimes up to four times their normal size, and a hefty portion of fish is trapped as the whales push them towards the surface. Some fish attempt to escape by leaping into the air, but many meet their fate inside the gaping mouths.
It is truly a marvelous show of cooperation as these probably unrelated whales work together so they all benefit. We typically only see a few bubbles and the final explosion that occurs, but with the combination of the hydrophone and some great driving by our Captain, we were able to enjoy this spectacle repeatedly at close range. It is an incredible finish to our voyage through the wilderness of Southeast Alaska.
Words really don’t describe what we witnessed this afternoon. While finishing a deck lunch under blue skies, a large group of humpback whales was spotted. We headed towards them and realized they were cooperatively feeding. Now I will try to describe this, but you really have to be a witness to understand it all. Ten humpbacks were together, at the surface, breathing and then fluking for a deeper dive. As they disappear, the water is glassy flat and everything is quiet to our ears until a few bubbles start appearing. In the midst of these bubbles, all ten whales erupt through the still water, mouths agape. Everyone on board screams in delight as fish jump, water boils, and whales feast. The whales slowly settle, pushing the water out through their baleens as they swallow their lunch.
What is going on under the water is even more mesmerizing. We drop a hydrophone and listen as one whale “screams,” helping to herd the fish. As it concentrates the fish with noise, a second whale is blowing a curtain of bubbles in a circle. The fish, probably herring in our case, huddle into a petrified ball. The whales enter the circle of bubbles through the bottom and rush towards the surface, mouth agape. The throat pleats expand, sometimes up to four times their normal size, and a hefty portion of fish is trapped as the whales push them towards the surface. Some fish attempt to escape by leaping into the air, but many meet their fate inside the gaping mouths.
It is truly a marvelous show of cooperation as these probably unrelated whales work together so they all benefit. We typically only see a few bubbles and the final explosion that occurs, but with the combination of the hydrophone and some great driving by our Captain, we were able to enjoy this spectacle repeatedly at close range. It is an incredible finish to our voyage through the wilderness of Southeast Alaska.
