Whales of Lynn Canal

We turned in off of Lynn Canal near Chilkoot Inlet for a closer view of Dickinson Glacier.

In the distance we could see the familiar mist from the "blows" of Humpback Whales The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is the baleen whale most frequently seen swimming or feeding close to shore along the southern coast of Alaska. When beginning to dive, animals often lift their flukes out of the water thereby exposing the pattern of black and white which characterizes the ventral side. This pattern varies with each whale and is used by biologists to identify individual animals. Humpbacks may stay submerged for as long as 30 minutes although most dives do not last longer than 15 minutes.

Dante's telephoto lens we could see the blowhole and the "hump" surfacing. When resting near the surface between dives, whales may blow every few seconds.

 

After a deep breath the huge fluke appeared. Notice the texture of the vertebrae in the tail.      

As the whale began to dive the fluke began to rise out of the water.

It seems the Gullimots are lined up to see what the huge creature stirs up.

Volumes of water dripped from the slick surface of it's skin.

What an increditble sight!

We noticed the white markings beneath its tail.

The patterned underside is unique to each whale, and it can be identified by the marking  similar to our fingerprint profile.