We awoke to a humpback whale making vertical lunges on herring before moving on to Sitkoh Bay and stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, inflatable boat cruising, aerobic hikes as well as long and short interpretive hikes. We left a brown bear grazing in the meadow near our ship as we devoured clam chowder and a salad. All these activities make one quite hungry. As we passed the turn off for Peril Strait we encountered about 8 to10 humpbacks bubble-net feeding on herring. Next we headed south and encountered more than 20 resident killer whales.
8/1/2019
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National Geographic Venture
Baranof Island
After exploring the glaciers and open waters of the northern Inside Passage, we sailed south through the night and returned to the starting point of our journey, Baranof Island. This island, along with Admiralty to the east and Chichagof to the north, is home to one of the highest densities of brown bears in the world. To search for evidence of the bears as they begin their yearly salmon feast and continue our exploration of the temperate rainforest, we anchored in Kelp Bay to kayak and hike the shoreline throughout the morning. Later in the afternoon, we welcomed Dr. Andy Szabo of the Alaska Whale Foundation to learn more about ongoing research taking place in Alaska on the unique bubblenet feeding behavior we witnessed earlier in the trip. Only in Alaska can you experience the forest, salmon, bears, and whales all in one day.
