The folks aboard the Sea Lion were treated to an amazing spectacle this afternoon. We found a pod of feeding humpback whales in Chatham Strait. Up to a dozen of these huge creatures surfaced, with blow spouts that were so close that we could hear them. They were also diving, often with their flukes raised out of the water. A few of the humpbacks were feeding by bubble-netting, where a whale exhales as it swims in a circle underwater, thus creating a wall of bubbles that force krill or herring together to form an easily eaten mass. Several of the whales came right up next to the ship, so we were looking straight down on top of them. We were so close that we could even see the individual barnacles that grow on their skin!
This morning was just as enjoyable. We went for Zodiac cruises around the Bay of Pillars, which is a beautiful bay on Kuiu Island that has dozens of small islands covered with conifer trees. The guests in the different Zodiacs saw many different animals, including Sitka black-tail deer and black bears on land, bald eagles in the air, and huge jellyfish in the water.
