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Guided Focus on Whales/Photography w/ Dr. Adam Pack Trip A122: 8 days / 7 nights on the M/V Northern Song, July 14 - 21, 2012 Trip A123: 8 days / 7 nights on the M/V Northern Song, July 14 - 21, 2013 |
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Working under special Federal Research Permits to Dr. Pack to study humpback whales and other cetaceans, you will assist him in sighting, recording GPS locations, documenting behavior including feeding activities, and photographing the identities of individual humpback whales in Frederick Sound and its inlets and passages. Humpbacks will be studied while feeding individually as well as in groups, and feeding tactics will be carefully documented. Skin samples may also be obtained to determine the sex of individuals and to examine humpback whale health status. In addition to data collection, you will also have the opportunity to assist in data processing and analysis to discover the life histories of photo-identified whales, and to learn about humpback whale ecology through readings, discussions and documentary films.
If by chance the excitement of the humpback whale observation and data collection is not enough, there are many additional opportunities to sight other marine mammals such as killer whales, Dall’s porpoise, Stellar sea lions, and sea otters, as well as a variety of birds, bears, and other wildlife. Some other activities that can be included in the daily schedule are shore hikes, glacier viewing, beach combing, sport fishing for halibut, crab and shrimp, sea kayaking and a visit to a natural hot springs or Tlingit village.
No special training or skills are required, only a hearty spirit and an interest in whale research and whale photography. Dr. Adam Pack has been researching whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals for over 25 years. He has published over 40 journal articles and scientific reports on marine mammals, and his scientific discoveries have been featured in newspapers, popular magazines, and television documentaries. Contact us for more info.
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In the calm protected waters of Alaska’s Inside Passage you are outside on the front deck of a custom 80 ft private yacht enjoying the crisp fresh air of a sunshine-filled summer Alaskan morning with a select small group of no more than seven other passengers. Snow-capped mountains form a perfect backdrop to the calm sea. The outside speaker crackles with the voice of Captain Dennis Rogers “the depth sounder shows a large school of herring in the immediate area.” Chief researcher Dr. Adam Pack points out the herring “bubbling” at the surface and asks everyone to listen. As the water pops with herring, you hear a faint cry. The cry fades but quickly starts again, this time louder. Again and again the cry sounds. You and your fellow participants take up positions so as to see all areas around the boat. Suddenly, Adam calls out “bubbles, port bow!” All eyes turn as a ring of large bubbles forms at the surface. Then, suddenly ten 45 foot long humpback whales with mouths wide open lunge straight up in synchrony through the surface. Herring leap into the air an attempt to escape, but most fall prey to the enormous leviathans. You have only a few moments to marvel at the choreography of the hunt before the whales begin to dive. With each dive a whale exposes the underside of its tail flukes (the whale’s “finger print”). 
Together with Dr. Pack, you capture these identification images on digital cameras, while your fellow participants record the frame numbers and behavioral data, and assist in documenting the behavioral sequence through digital video. Then suddenly, you hear the feeding cry again. The feeling is electric! You ready your camera for the next feeding bout and get excited about the evening’s activity of comparing your new photographs to the project’s archival catalog. Have any of these whales been photographed before? How many years have these particular whales come together to feed? How persistent are their associations? It seems like the questions are endless, but you are thrilled to be part of a team trying to answer them and assist in the continued recovery of this endangered species.
Humpback whales are a migratory species that spend winter months breeding and calving in warm tropical waters and summer months feeding at higher latitudes in colder productive waters. Southeastern Alaska is the major feeding area for North Pacific humpback whales from Hawai’i. Each spring, thousands of humpback whales from Hawai’i make the long journey to Southeast Alaska. In 1980, after spending the winter and spring months studying humpback whales in Hawaiian waters, researchers from the University of Hawai’i migrated with the whales to their feeding grounds in Southeast Alaska’s Frederick Sound. There, they photographed individual whales to learn about their migratory trends, habitat use and feeding habits. In the years that followed, these researchers also documented humpback whales using feeding calls, bubblenets, and synchronous lunges to cooperatively hunt schools of herring. How long do the associations between individual humpback whales that cooperatively feed in these groups last? Are the associations between individual whales observed in Alaska also seen in Hawai’i? And do the associations between individual humpbacks in Hawai’i persist in Alaska? Now, some 30 years after those initial pioneering studies, Dr. Adam A. Pack, Associate Professor at University of Hawai’i at Hilo and Co-Founder and Vice President of The Dolphin Institute, a Hawaii-based nonprofit organization, has returned to the waters of Frederick Sound to answer these and other questions.
Copyright 2011 Island Voyages, Inc. and Natures-Spirit Photography, reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is strictly prohibited and a violation of law. Alaska Sea Adventures operates under Special Use Permit from the USDA Forest Service, Tongass National Forest. |