Humpback Whales off Tebenkof Bay

We pulled up the anchor and went just out into Chatham Strait and it didn't take long til we saw a huge splash up ahead. A whale breached a couple of times, very difficult to get a picture of. Then we saw this one repeatedly slapping one of his fins onto the surface of the water.

Fin slapping.

Bubble net feeding.

After the feed.

Cooperative feeding.

Tail lobbing.

Herring ball.

We stayed out for hours, drifting in the current and watching the whales feed and breath. There were at least 30 whales out there. We could see big circles of small fish flipping and jumping at the surface of the water--herring balls. These are what the whales would cooperatively feed on: bubble net feeding or lunge feeding. They take huge mouthfuls of fish and water and the baleen on the either side of their upper jaws act as a sieve to keep the fish in and let the water out. Each whale eats up to 3000 pounds/day of fish, krill and plankton! These waters are rich in nutrients for them. It is amazing to imagine their migration to Hawaii and Mexico, where they don't eat for months, but mate and calve their babies. Amazing animals.