Scott Hocking

The Year of the Whale

This year certainly seems to be the year of the whale, as I’ve seen whales on every trip I’ve taken to Columbia Glacier this May!  Here is some footage of three humpbacks in the Valdez Arm.  They get their name from the “hump” we see on the surface as they round their backs to go into a dive.  It’s hard to believe that when we see their fluke, or tail fin, they’ve gone from nearly horizontal to a 49 foot headstand under the surface of the water!

To try your luck at seeing whales like these, join us on one of our Columbia Glacier Day Trips this summer!

Scott Hocking

Surf’s Up!!

Here is a video of some Dall’s Porpoise that joined us on a recent trip to Columbia Glacier.  It was a large pod and they kept up with our boat for quite some time! Ancient Greeks considered dolphins and porpoises surfing the wakes of their ships as a good omen and I have to agree.  Bring on the sunshine and the whales, it’s going to be a great kayak season!

Scott Hocking

Typical Humpback Behavior

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Peer into the mouth of a humpback whale… our clients did on a recent trip to Columbia Glacier! This humpback displayed some awesome feeding behaviors right in front of our boat on the way back from a Columbia Glacier Day Trip.  First, he set some bubble nets. Whales do this by diving below a school of fish or krill and then blowing bubbles in a circle around their prey.  Then, the humpback did a behavior called lunging, diving up through the school of fish with his mouth open and scooping up his dinner on the way.  That’s a lot of work for a mouthful!