Just when you think it can’t get any better, something blows your socks off. We definitely got the feeling we were living in an advertising brochure today with the epic wildlife experiences we enjoyed! Starting at 6 a.m. we sighted first one, then a small group of humpback whales. It’s always a treat to see whales, so we headed into Iyoukeen to see if they were feeling frisky. A small group turned into at least a dozen whales, which blew and dove as if on cue. A few moments later a ring of bubbles rose to the surface, gulls came flying from all directions, and behemoth mouths launched out the water in the middle of the bubble ring. Unbelievable!
We’d come across a group of cooperatively feeding humpbacks, a behavior called bubblenet feeding. Synchronized, the whales dive below a school of herring, a couple whales blow curtains of bubbles to herd the frightened herring into a ball, a couple whales swim around flashing the undersides of their pectoral fins to keep the herring knotted together and a whale trumpets a feeding call from below. All together the group swims up through the bubblenet with mouth gaping open and burst from the water with herring scattering all around. The clever gulls signal when the surface feeding is imminent by flying in squawking and squabbling, waiting to pick up a free meal from their marine companions. The whales bubblenetted for hours, keeping people squealing in delight with shutters clicking incessantly. The stewards managed to herd most people into the dining room before their breakfast got cold, and even while we were gobbling our food before hitting the decks again, the whale team launched out of the water right beside the dining room windows. As if this weren’t enough, a whale came over to the ship, rolled on its side directly beneath the bow and rested near the surface alongside us. It was humbling to see how huge the whales are and feel wonderfully involved in the feeding process.
We managed to tear ourselves away from the whales with the consolation we might see bears around the corner. And sure enough, pulling into Pavlof Harbor we were greeted by a few brown bears strolling down the beach! We quickly loaded into expedition landing craft and headed to shore, where half the group walked down the shoreline, passing bear poop, bear diggings, and bear-munched salmon carcasses, to the mouth of a small salmon stream. A series of low rocky steps with water cascading across them were chock full of salmon, fins and tails struggling against the current as they fought upstream. The few and the proud to make it home to spawn in their natal stream, their last major obstacle stood before them with claws and jaws: the bears.
When we first arrived the bears were out of sight, probably up in the forest. Soon a report came in by radio: a bear was wandering our landing beach and sniffing around the life jackets. After a brief catnap and nibble in the jackets, it continued down the beach, into the forest, past our group, and into the water. Wonderful shots were taken of the bear fishing for salmon. Kayakers got great views from water level, and a second bear wandered into the stream to join the first.
A late lunch and rainy afternoon featured presentations by naturalist David on the exquisite art of the northwest coast and a sneak preview of our week’s DVD by our video chronicler Brian. Captain’s dinner was followed by a presentation by photo instructor Jennifer and everyone headed to bed tired and satisfied.
