We wake to a silvery sky and a glassy ocean. Anticipation is high as rumors of a brown bear lurking up ahead stimulate the adrenalin. We anchored at Pavalof Harbor and after breakfast we are into the Zodiacs for a short trip to shore. We walk as quietly as possible along the edge of the river until we see a water fall up ahead. Three brown bears are in the rapids, then we spot a forth, fifth and even sixth! All are occasionally picking up small pink salmon to eat. Cameras whirr; everybody is very focused!
Upon returning to National Geographic Sea Lion we head south down Chatham Strait keeping eyes open for whales. Doug Gould gave a lecture on how to identify the many species of seabirds passing the ship. Then while Susan Suebert was giving an entertaining and educational lecture on her experiences working with National Geographic, a couple of lunge feeding humpback whales appeared and all attention shifted to the whales. Understandably, whale and bear sightings always have precedence over anything else, even staff members giving wonderful lectures!
We had not gone much further when we encountered about 10 humpback whales bubble feeding. This fascinating display of cooperative feeding kept us entranced for two hours. First, a circle of bubbles would appear on the surface as the whales down below breathed out a curtain of bubbles that trapped the prey. Then, a mournful whale call could be heard as the lead whale signaled it was time for all to rise to the surface with their enormous mouths wide open. A mountain of whales subsided into the ocean and the whales breathed heavily on the surface to replenish their oxygen. This behavior is not frequently seen; we were very lucky.
