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by Scottie Westfall

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Whale watching off Admiralty Island

July 9, 2016 by SWestfall3

I’ve never been whale watching in my life. The only wild whale I’ve seen was a dead pygmy sperm whale in North Carolina, so this was quite an experience.

These are all humpback whales, which come to Alaska to feed on the vast of krill and baitfish that are themselves fed on the vast phytoplankton blooms that happen as a result of long days of sunlight and the nutrients of glacial silt. They go to Hawaii to have their calves and breed, but those warm seas are totally devoid of whale food. So they come up to Alaska every summer to fatten themselves up. Hawaii is pretty much devoid of orcas, which kill whale calves, so those waters are the nursery. But the nursery is in a sea of famine.

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There were many, many humpbacks swimming near the boat. I wish I had a photo of the one that came closest to the boat. I think it came within maybe 60 feet of the boat, and the first thing you could see is this massive black form coming up from the gray sea. Within just a few seconds, the great form appeared above the surface, spouted, and slipped back under.

I wish I had been able to get photos of that whale. It was really impressive.

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Posted in wildlife | Tagged Alaska whale watching, humpback whale, whale | 2 Comments

2 Responses

  1. on July 9, 2016 at 5:35 pm pondpawed

    Sounds really incredible. I went on a whale watch off Hawaii and there were whales but not close close as yours. So cool!


  2. on July 9, 2016 at 9:54 pm UrbanCollieChick

    I was addicted to whale watching for years, but had to back off because as much as I loved boats, I kept getting seasickness. I’d love to find a way around that.

    As it is now, I use dramamine, sea bands and ginger chews to get through many boat rides.

    My best experience ever was in Australia. Lots of breaching and still waters that day. One breached so close to my boat and I managed to get some crappy photos. Film camera. It was the year 2000. I need to scan a few.

    If I’d had the equipment I have now….oh well.



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