Iyoukeen Cove and Pavlof Harbor
This was a day when dreams came true. A humpback whale burst out the sea just off the bow of the National Geographic Sea Bird before most of us had our first cup of coffee. Luckily the young whale was extremely energetic and we all had a chance to see and photograph the gymnastics of a breaching calf of the year. Several additional adult whales arrived in the area and within a few minutes we were watching cooperative bubblenet feeding – a practice of humpback whales in Southeast Alaska and one of nature’s most complex animal behaviors. The whales use a circle of bubbles and incredible trumpeting sounds as tools to concentrate small schooling fish into a tight ball. Shoulder to shoulder the forty-five ton rorquals surface open-mouthed, scooping up tons of water and fish. This specialized feeding strategy is witnessed mostly by the opportunistic gulls that follow the whales…we were fortunate indeed to spend time with as many as twenty feeding whales.
That was mostly before breakfast! From our anchorage in nearby Pavlof Harbor, we landed ashore and made a short walk along a stream to a picturesque waterfall. Just below the falls were two brown bears in the shallow rocky streambed hunting salmon and enjoying the great seasonal feast this abundant region provides. The bears looked to be adolescent animals, perhaps siblings recently sent out on their own. Brown bear cubs stay with their mothers for about three years, learning to hunt and denning up together through the long winter months. Bears wandered in and out of the scene and we watched a total of three young bears from the beach and from our kayaks and Zodiacs- they were intent upon consuming as much salmon as possible and hardly noticed our presence.
What a grand Southeast Alaskan day among wildlife and wilderness.
