We awakened this morning aboard National Geographic Sea Lion in Chatham Strait to cloudy skies, drizzle, and…a humpback whale! The expedition leader came over the PA shortly after 6:30 a.m. to entice people out on deck to see the first whale of the trip, and maybe a brown bear that had been roaming along the shoreline and tucked inside the forest.
The sky began to clear as we continued to cruise and look for wildlife after breakfast. Our efforts were rewarded with another humpback whale, who was lateral lunge-feeding. The krill was close to the surface so the whale would propel itself forward on its side, open its huge mouth, engulf the fish and water, close its mouth and press its tongue against the baleen to push the water out. We stayed with this amazing animal for over an hour, getting some great looks at its pectoral fins, tail, and most impressively its massive mouth with lower jaw pleats that expand like an accordion to make a huge container for the prey, the pink inside of the mouth, tongue, and the white and blonde/brown hair-like baleen which helps strain the water out.
The sun was shining brightly during lunch as National Geographic Sea Lion anchored in Pavlof Harbor. This beautifully scenic area boasts a large salmon stream with a beautiful waterfall area, a very busy dining area for coastal brown bears. We never know when they may be feeding, and today we were blessed to see many bears coming and going. All told we saw two juveniles, two large males, and two momma bears—one with three cubs, and one with two cubs. Wow! The bears coming and going kept our expedition leaders and naturalists on their toes in order to maintain safe distances with the groups. We also had kayaks out for two rounds and everyone who wanted got a chance to paddle around the bay and into the stream area. And, while all this was going on, our undersea specialist and purser were a short distance away diving, hopefully getting some footage of their underwater explorations to share with us later.
The light and temperature were so spectacular that hotel staff brought the already-planned “Taste of Alaska” cocktails and appetizers up onto the sundeck so we could linger outdoors a bit longer. In reviewing our day, a taste of Alaska indeed. As one guest said, “exciting, informative, instructive, phenomenal… blew my mind… more than expected… and I hope there’s more to come!” Welcome to the riches of Southeast Alaska.
