We had an amazing day in one of our favorite places today, the Inian Islands. We started off knowing it was going to be a spectacular day when we received an early wakeup call by our expedition leader to inform us that orcas were swimming under our bow. This orca pod had the cutest little baby with them, and it continued to surface high out of the water. We also saw some tail-slapping from the pod, all before breakfast! We boarded Zodiacs and watched Steller sea lions catch fish in the currents ripping through these islands. We watched the sea lions rip apart salmon and rockfish, and they came over to our boats to check us out. As if that wasn’t special enough, we saw humpback whales in large groups and listened to them vocalize. After lunch, we went to Fox Creek for hiking and kayaking. The hike focused on wildflowers, bear tracks, bear scratching posts, and adventure, while we focused on invertebrates, kelps, and leisure while kayaking. It was a well-rounded afternoon.
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.