Bubble Net Feeding Frenzy

 

Whale watching can be pretty spectacular in Southeast Alaska during the summer months. North pacific humpback whales, who spent the majority of winter breeding and calving in Hawaii, are now here in Alaska for a feeding frenzy.

Bubble netting humpbacks in front of the Safari Explorer

Close up! I could see the ring of bubbles hit the surface just before the whales burst up from below with mouths wide open. Tiny herring leapt out of the whales' mouths

Depending on the prey that the whales are feeding on, their strategies can be vastly different. If they are feeding on krill they can simply swim through the water with their mouth open, using their baleen-filled mouths to filter out the food. Things really spice up when the whales are hunting herring, a small schooling fish.

When hunting herring, humpbacks will occasionally work together in a group, herding the fish into a tight ball, using a cooperative method called bubble net feeding. This is what we were lucky enough to stumble upon today. Knowing how special this is, I changed the afternoon plan for everyone to load up the small boats and get up close and personal with the bubble netting humpback whales.

We ended up getting an incredible show. The conditions were amazing and so were the pictures. Check them out and enjoy.

Our last view of the whales before heading back to the explorer to continue our journey north