What's Inside...
Glacier Bay National Park
Whale Watching
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Glacier Bay
National Park
Whale Watching
Seeing huge
whales in their
native habitat
counts as one of
life's great
experiences.
Each summer
15-20 humpback
whales regularly
feed in park
waters,
concentrating in
the lower part
of the bay. They
migrate here
from their
winter home in
the warm waters
off Hawaii and
can often be
seen along the
shorelines of
Southeast
Alaska. Special
regulations go
into effect when
large
concentrations
of whales are in
the park. The
regulations
affect vessel
speed limits and
travel routes in
certain areas.
Humpback whales
are the most
acrobatic of
whales, heaving
their massive
selves by leaps
and turns out of
the water.
Humpbacks are
both
cosmopolitan—found
in all
oceans—and
endangered. Only
about seven
percent of their
pre-whaling
numbers remain.
Coastal feeders
who love
shorelines,
bays, and
fjords, they are
naturals for
Alaska, which
boasts nearly
34,000 miles of
tidal shoreline.
Humpbacks feed
here on krill,
shrimp, and
various fish,
including
capelin.
Humpbacks feed
heavily because,
unlike most
birds and
mammals, they do
not feed year
round. Humpbacks
must store
enough fat in
summer to last
the rest of the
year. Adults
average 40 to 50
feet long,
females being
the larger.
Adults weigh in
at about
three-quarters
of a ton per
running foot.
An adult
humpback has
from 600 to 800
baleen plates in
its mouth. These
plates end in
bristles. In the
feeding process,
huge masses of
sea organisms
are scooped into
the mouth. Then
the water, some
150 gallons at a
shot, is
expelled while
the plates
filter in the
edibles. Were
you to stare
into a
humpback's
mouth— which
opens to 90
degrees— you
might not
readily discount
the Biblical
mishaps of
Jonah. Glacier
Bay humpbacks
have been
observed working
singly or in
pairs to cast
a"net" of
bubbles about
their prey and
then harvesting
the hapless
creatures—probably
shrimp and other
slower-moving
organisms—caught
in their airy
illusion.
Whales include
the largest
creatures our
world has known.
Blue whales
weighed up to
200 tons before
whaling days.
Sixty to 100
million years
ago the
ancestors of
today's whales
were land
dwelling,
warm-blooded,
air breathing
mammals who
successfully
returned to the
seas to live.
Alaskan waters
boast 10 species
of baleen whales
and 5 toothed
whales. Glacier
Bay waters boast
2 of the baleen
whales, the
minke and
humpback, and 1
toothed whale,
the orca. The
whales' appeal
mixes
familiarity and
strangeness.
Whales live in
family groups,
aid each other
in distress, and
talk to each
other. Some
serious
observers credit
whales with
rational
thought.
Minke whales are
thought to be
quite migratory
and are more at
home in cold
northern waters
than most baleen
whales. (Baleen
whales are named
for how they
feed). Cod and
pollock are
their main diet
here. Farther
south minkes
favor krill. The
upper size limit
of minke whales
in northern
waters is 33
feet. Among
large whales,
minkes are fast
swimmers, making
speeds up to 20
miles per hour.
As whaling has
depleted more
favored species,
the rich-meated
minke has become
the most often
killed baleen
whales. Their
North Pacific
population
appears to have
declined to
between
one-fourth and
one-third its
pre-whaling
numbers.
Orca whales feed
on various
marine animals,
including fish,
sea lions,
seals,
porpoises,
sharks, squid,
and other
whales. Also
called killer
whales, orcas
can hunt in
teams and have
killed blue
whales, the
world's largest
animals. Male
orca whales
average about 23
feet long; the
females less.
They have no
natural enemies.
Thought to be
highly
intelligent,
orcas are
readily trained
in captivity.
They can swim at
a steady 29
miles per hour.
Their
distinctive,
largely
triangular
dorsal fin may
reach nearly 6
feet high on old
males.
The situation of
whales, and
particularly of
the endangered
humpback whales,
in Glacier Bay
has recently
been under
intensive
scrutiny by
scientists. The
purpose of the
studies has been
to learn enough
about these
awe-inspiring
creatures to
protect them.
The numbers of
whales present
can vary
dramatically
from year to
year. Whether
these variations
are wholly
natural or not
is uncertain.
Historically,
most of our
information
about whales
derives from
attempts to
harvest them,
not to save them
from extinction.
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