The Return of the Hungry Humpback Whales
By Barbara Howard
Hungry mouths open wide!
The humpback whales are returning to Southeast Alaska from their breeding and calving grounds in Hawaii where they’ve been all winter. They are hungry. They are very hungry. The warm tropical waters, which are ideal for calving, lack adequate food resources for the whales. For the most part, humpbacks don’t eat when they are in Hawaii.
After migrating thousands of miles, the hungry whales feed in the Alaskan waters which are rich in food. Humpback whales eat a varied diet in Alaska: small schooling fishes, such as herring, sand lance, capelin, mackerel, and krill. It has been estimated that a humpback whale consumes nearly a ton of food a day while in Alaska.
Bubble-feeding Frenzy!
The humpback whales employ an ingenious strategy of bubble-feeding which is unique in certain areas of Southeast Alaska. The feeding frenzy goes like this: The lead whale calls for the others to line up and begin the circling. The call intensifies, becomes gradually higher in pitch and gets louder and louder and faster and faster as they circle the fish and head for the climax. They gather together beneath the catch, and blow air to create the bubble net as they swim to the surface with their mouths wide open. Then, in a spectacular display, together, they burst out of the water as they fill up with fish. After taking food and water into their mouths, humpbacks strain or filter the water through their baleen plates, trapping food in their mouths. They groan with satisfaction, regroup and start the process again. (If the bubbling session doesn’t work out, the lead whale calls it off and they start over.)
You can witness this amazing event over and over on exclusive whale-watching trips with Captain Dennis Rogers on Alaska Sea Adventures 'Focus on Whales' adventures in July, guided by marine mammal naturalist/photographer Jim Nahmens and Dr. Adam Pack from Hawaii's Dolphin Institute, aboard the Northern Song in Southeast Alaska.
One of the most amazing of Humpback whale behaviors is the cooperative ‘bubble-net’ feeding lunge. This fascinating forage technique is unique to the humpbacks within certain areas of Southeast Alaska and one of the whales’ activities that we specialize in finding for our clients. It’s an incredible sight to observe and/or capture with a camera!
Prior to the group of whales erupting in unison through the seas surface, Alaska Adventurer’s hydrophone enables us to hear the humpback’s enthralling feeding call which helps to herd the herring or krill into the whales’ bubble-net trap. Here you can listen to a recording we made of this spine chilling song
"I have lived and worked in over 100 countries. I am a veteran whale watcher in Hawaii and Cape Cod and have enjoyed many group trips. This trip and this group of people is the high point of my travel life. This has been a joy in all respects. Thanks for the dreams fulfilled".
William S. Saranac Lake, NY
"Oh, my God! Trip # 9 on the ‘AA' and they just keep getting better and better. And the whales- I think that this week I saw more whales than I have in the past 14 years combined!"
Barbara H. Miami, FL
The amazing cooperative group ‘bubble-net' lunge feeding humpback whales.
A Killer Whale (orca) pod surfacing in unison.
"...being in a kayak with a 60 to humpback whale surfacing and blowing so close to me, was beyond words. These gentle giants blessed us with their presence. And when the junior whale of one pair began frolicking and breaching right in front of us, it made my millennium!!"
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One of the most amazing of Humpback whale behaviors is the cooperative ‘bubble-net’ feeding lunge. This fascinating forage technique is unique to the humpbacks within certain areas of Southeast Alaska and one of the whales’ activities that we specialize in finding for our clients. It’s an incredible sight to observe and/or capture with a camera!
