Puffin Report 061808

Captain's Blog

June 18^th: Perhaps celebrating the clear sunny day in Seward, or maybe just dining at the all you can eat plankton buffet of Kenai Fjords, Humpback Whales dominated the festivities out on the water today. Not only did our boats get to see several clear shots of their tail flukes - each one with a unique white pattern across the blue underside of their tail flukes, the whale equivalent of a human finger print - but a couple of these animals were seen breaching. This is when they are able to propel their whole 25 ton bodies out of the water, usually with only a few strokes of their incredibly powerful flukes. Seeing an animal with that kind of lift couldn't help but lift everyone on board from their seats, and many of the passengers admitted that it was the hope of seeing sights like these that had lifted them from the lower 48 and up to Alaska in the first place.

Whales in the news

East Meets West? New research by Southern Cross University in New Zealand suggests a connection between the health and welfare of Atlantic and Pacific Humpback Whales that had had previously been assumed to be independent of each other. Researchers isolate Antarctica as a place where these Whales might be meeting and greeting, not altogether unlike Seward, where people come from all over the world to enjoy the wildlife and scenery together. Besides being an uplifting parable for the interconnectivity of people from different places, the finding also highlights the very real interconnected nature of ecosystems across the globe and the importance of conservation and environmental protection both at home and around the world. Full Story

This Day in Whale History

Big Apple; Bigger Whale: On June 18^th, 1988, a Humpback Whale that had been spotted several times in New York City's Hudson River decided to leave the Big Apple to head back into the Atlantic Ocean. Whether the decision to leave was influenced by food - the Hudson River in the 80's was known much more for pollution than plankton - or if the Whale just got tired of city living, I guess we'll never know. What we do know is that the desire to explore and travel is just another one of those things that people and animals have in common, and though those of you who live in cities probably missed your chance to host a Humpback in your hometown, you still have plenty of opportunities to come and visit them in their backyards, including our own Kenai Fjords National Park. Full Story

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