El dia de los osos! Not one or two, but a total of six brown bears were seen today on the shore of Chicagoff Island we began our exploration of Southeast Alaska. The first two bears were a young pair recently released from their mother’s care. Rather small, thin and apparently very hungry, they explored the upper intertidal for food. Later, but still before our lunchbreak, two large brown bears were seen also in pursuit of food along the intertidal near a small salmon stream.
Shortly after lunch, the marine realm revealed its apex predator when a small pod of killer whales were spotted in Chatham Strait. This “transient” group of four or five animals feed off marine mammals unlike the “resident” group that prey primarily on fish. We learned more about this magnificent animal and its social behavior during evening Recap when our undersea specialist, Carlos Navarro provided a brief introduction to these extraordinary marine mammals.
Our afternoon operations offered up a mix of kayaking and short hikes to the viewing area at Pavlof’s Harbor to wait and watch for bears. The first group was rewarded quickly when a brown bear emerged and crossed the creek moving quickly out of view and into the forest. The second group learned the virtue of patience as they waited at the base of the cascade enjoying the views and the antics of salmon jumping in the water below the falls. An hour passed, our time was up and we headed back towards the beach landing. As is often the case with wildlife, they arrive when you least expect it. A quiet voice from the radio called us back to view a large brown bear walking down from the forest and across the top of the falls. Back-lit on the top of the falls it paused, then walked quickly to the water’s edge and then up into the forest. By day’s end, we had seen six different brown bears, five killer whales, a distant but clearly discernable humpback whale, a harbor porpose and innumerable fish, birds, trees, shrubs, and flowers. It was a great start to our adventure in this wonderful land.
