Thump, thump, thump! The slapping of whales' tails this morning seemed to tell the early risers that today would be an extraordinary day. Playful humpbacks were just the preview. As Sea Bird cruised through Icy Strait toward Idaho Inlet, we encountered another pod of orca (the third one this week) and a raft of sea otters enjoying the sunny skies.
The otters, floating on their backs, allowed us to approach for some great views. Yes, we did have a warm day here, but the water is a mere 48 F and these cute creatures still manage to look pleased. The secret to their contentment in these frigid waters is their fur coats. Sea otters have two layers of fur. The outer layer is made up of "guard" hairs. This soft and fuzzy layer protects and helps keep the second layer of fur dry. This underfur is extremely fine and dense. Sea otters can have up to 1,000,000 hairs in a square inch! People seem bare in comparison with an average of 100,000 hairs per head. Thank goodness for wool hats.
We all knew today was a fantastic day. Perhaps the humpbacks just wanted to remind us of that again because soon after dinner these large animals swam nearby to show us again what an amazing part of the world we are visiting.
