Adventures with Humpback Whales in Frederick Sound
There are few animals in the world as spectacular as humpback whales. Hundreds of them summer in Frederick Sound in Southeast Alaska. Here they feed on krill (small shrimplike creatures) and small fish. They winter in Hawaii, where the males sing and the females give birth to their calves. In the months in the tropics they do not eat. In Alaska, however, they make up for lost time. Meanwhile their antics and intelligence astound all viewers. In August 2001 the Delphinus spent days with the whales. In the above photo, we were drifting with engine off in a group of sleeping whales. Then one awoke and sounded, showing its graceful flukes. Views of whales coming toward a boat are rare, because by law a boat may not move in front of an advancing whale. However, since the Delphinus was stationary in the water, this was not a problem.
After half a day of searching, we were fortunate to find a group of bubble feeders. In 2001 herring seemed to be more scarce than usual, and thus the great gatherings of whales for this feeding process were rare, too. In bubble feeding, the whales, led by an alpha female surround the fish and confuse their prey with masses of bubbles. From the boat we can see where the whales are about to explode out of the water because of the pattern of bubbles in a "six" or "nine" pattern. Here the baleen, used to strain the fish from the water, is particularly visible.
Here an enthusiastic humpback comes partly out of the water during bubble feeding.
All together now, say "Aaaah!" This photo clearly shows the top parts of the whales' mouths as jaws are extended wide.
Think of half a dozen 40-ton bullfrogs with throats distended, and you may get an idea of the immensity of this feeding process. This immense quantity of water is then expelled, filtered through the baleen.
Powerful pectoral fins, sometimes more than a dozen feet long, enable humpbacks to navigate effectively. Here a whale rests on the surface with pectoral fin extended while another whale nudges close.
Humpbacks are famous for their breaching,when they jump partially or all the way out of the water. Scientists aren't sure why they do this. Some conjecture that they jump to get rid of barnacles. The rest of us can believe that they're just having fun. Breaching photos are difficult to get, as no one knows where or when they'll come up. Often the whales will breach several times in a row.
We saw this whale breach right in the middle of our lunch aboard the Delphinus. Grabbing a camera and running out on the deck, Betty was able to get these photos (right and below).
Near Portage Bay in Frederick Sound, this humpback whale breached perhaps 20 or 30 times.
(Left and below) Finally, here's a breach near Cape Fanshaw in Frederick Sound. This whale was so close it almost felt like it was going to jump in the boat. Betty took this series of photos and until her film was returned, was certain she had cropped off portions of the whale in her camera.
