Today was a day for marine wildlife. We started the morning with the strikingly-marked black and white Dall's porpoise bowriding on the Sea Bird after breakfast, saw Steller sea lions and harbor seals near a group of six humpback whales, milling off Point Adolphus, and spent time with sea otters in Idaho Inlet, on the north coast of Chichagof Island. This area, near the open ocean, appears to be a favorite resting haunt for sea otters - we counted 96 individuals spread out over a small area. Behavior of the otters was wonderful to observe, with some individuals spending a lot of time grooming, others sound asleep floating at the surface, and a few socializing, rolling at the surface and chasing each other. This appeared to be largely a bachelor herd, with the mothers and pups staying more on the outer coast, closer to their main food sources.
The afternoon was spent hiking and kayaking, and the day was topped with a wonderful barbecue dinner and campfire on shore!
