Bubble Netting Whales and Changing Plans in Alaska

 Imagine being on a small, 20ft inflatable boat, and having a whale the size of a city school bus come exploding out of the water right next to you. That is what happened today at Wachusset Cove, here in Southeast Alaska.

From our anchorage at Iyoukeen Cove, we spotted a group of humpback whales over a mile out near the point of this long peninsula. This area is a hotspot for finding bubble net feeding humpback whales, so we put the normal morning plans on hold, in order for everyone to load up in our small boats and cruise out to find the whales....just in case it turned out to be a group of bubble netters.

As with everything in Alaska, it was farther than it looked getting to the point. The landscapes are so vast, and the mountains so tall, that you lose all perspective of distance. When we finally did make it out to the point, the whales were nowhere to be seen. But not to be deterred, we kept driving, and driving, until eventually we ended up at a totally different bay called Pavlof Harbor.

At this point, we did find the group of whales. I knew we would lose the entire morning's hikes if we had to drive all the way back to the ship, so I called the ship, told them we had the bubble netters, and asked them to come anchor at Wachusset Cove so we could still get some hikes in there.

Shortly after the whales found some dense schools of herring and began herding them using giant underwater circles of bubbles. Then all at once, the entire group of nine whales would come launching up through the water with their mouths wide open in one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on Earth.
At one point the whales exploded out of the water right next to us, so close that my telephoto lens only captured one whale out of the nine. If you zoom in enough you can even spot some of the small herring, leaping out of the whale's mouth, to the safety of the water below.

The whale watching was incredible, and the hikes that followed were wonderful as well. It paid off to have the flexibility and local knowledge to fully take advantage of the morning and give the guests the absolute best trip ever. Hopefully they will be talking about this for years to come.

A whale dives down, lifting its tail before disappearing below.

The last thing a herring ever sees.

When engaged in this bubble net feeding strategy, the entire group of whales will surface together, and dive down together.

We had two skiffs out. Here is the other one with half our guests, looking very happy after witnessing bubble net feeding humpback whales.

Here is a better shot of the entire group of whales, all working together cooperatively.