This morning our expedition ship brought us to an anchorage in a sheltered cove of the Inian Islands. These islands reside within Icy Strait, so named by explorer George Vancouver in 1794 for the massive amounts of glacial ice choking this passage during his voyage. Today the ice is gone, but the fjord is still an area of intensive oceanic and wildlife activity. Strong tidal changes create conditions ideal for Steller sea lions, bald eagles, sea otters, and gulls to capture prey. The clouds ebb and flow like the tides, sometimes bringing rain, sometimes bringing rays of sunshine.
9/10/2024
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National Geographic Sea Lion
Pavlof Harbor
The day started with an exciting encounter. Before breakfast we observed a group of bubble-netting humpback whales. It was incredible to see them lunge and hear them breathing at the surface. This was coupled by a glorious pink sunrise. After breakfast we took Zodiac cruises searching for bears near Pavlof Harbor. Even though we did not find any (wildlife is always delightfully unexpected), the scenery was beautiful, and we watched many adorable harbor seals. After thinking the excitement of the day was done, we spotted a large group of whales from a distance. While approaching closer, we realized this group was also bubble-net feeding. Close to the shore, we observed these whales for hours. We even dropped the hydrophone to hear their haunting feeding call before they all lunged at the surface. It was one of the most incredible things any of us had ever witnessed. As if this wasn’t enough, at our sunset recap we got the call that there were killer whales around the ship. It was the most amazing ending to the most amazing day.
