It was a drizzly day here at Alert Bay, but it did not dampen our spirits! A family of frolicking river otters (Lontra canadensis) on the floating dock by our ship greeted us as disembarked. At the same time, sea otters (Enhydra lutris) swam along the dock trying to interact with the river otters!
The first stop of the morning was the U’mista Cultural Center. Here, our guests enjoyed a short film and then were able to tour the museum’s displays and artwork. After the U’mista tour was finished, we made our way to the “Big House” for a welcome ceremony. There were dancers of all ages, which after the welcome ceremony, danced and explained the various dances.
As we made our way past Hanson Island and Orca Camp, a viewing and listening research outpost, we saw a mega pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) and a pod of five orca (Orcinus orca). One of our naturalists downloaded an orca vocalization live feed app from the research station, and we were able to hear the orcas that we were watching!
