It’s been so fun to reminisce about our Alaska trip this week. Did you see my post this week about the White Pass Scenic Railroad? Turns out I have some fun pictures from the Chihuly Museum in Seattle and from Pike’s Place to share with you soon too! I guess that means that I’ll be sharing our winter trip to Boulder sometime in the summer. Lol. No, it won’t be that bad, I promise.
The absolute best day of our Alaska trip was when we took a morning excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord (see photos in this post). On a smaller boat, we were able to get closer to glaciers than the large cruise ship could and we enjoyed exploring several smaller areas.
Orca (and also humpback whales) rarely enter the fjords. However, since there was a large fishing boat nearby, sea lions were out in droves trying to eat, which happened to bring out several groups of orca. Our guides were absolutely ecstatic and told us this never ever happens. They stopped the engines for a good half hour so we could watch the whales in awe.
Close to our boat was this family of three, who kept reappearing in different places. We saw other groups further out.
“There is something about killer whales. Maybe it’s their sheer size, some as big as school busses. It might be their force and power… or maybe it’s the whales’ almost otherworldly intelligence, their sense of humor and play, their apparent love of sharing. For many people, it is all of the above. They are, quite simply, mesmerized by Orcinus orca.” ~ David Kirby, Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity
I, for sure, am one of the mesmerized. My heart was beating so fast and I just knew I was watching something remarkable. Other passengers were also amazed, of course, and my daughter kept crying out, “Shamu!” I heard other camera clicking, people rushing from one side of the boat to another when someone would shout, “Over here!” I had my camera to my eye much of the time, clicking away, but I have to tell you also that what my camera recorded and what I saw naturally seem to be two different things. These creatures are so massively elegant. You have to take in the context of the environment in order to fully grasp the amazement.
When I got back home after the trip, I began reading about Alaska, John Muir, but also about orca. Their beauty, power, intelligence, and sheer size fascinated me to read more and more books about them.
Orca are actually not whales at all, but the largest of 30 species of dolphins. Ancient whalers called them “the killer of whales” because they are smart enough to kill much larger whales, but most Resident Orca prefer a fish diet. They have the largest brain of any dolphin (12 pounds – four times larger than a human brain) and they are among the smartest animals in the world.
Whales have existed for seven million years. They can communicate with each other from thousands of miles apart. They are free to roam the oceans without fearing predators. They can cover 2000 miles in a week. They are “an international tribe of global roamers, as discrete and wide-ranging as birds, yet all of a type.” ~ Philip Hoare, The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea
Can you imagine what their perspective of the earth must be and how different from our own? Of course, things have changed for them since humans decided to interfere. Over two hundred orca have perished in captivity in the last quarter of the 20th century. I have gone from inspired Sea World audience member to enraged whale anti-captivity advocate who will not set foot there again until they release their orca.
“Resident orca communities, dominated by females, are populated by intensely social whales that travel in large, stable groups centered on a matriarch. Each pod has its own signature collection of clicks, whistles, creaks, and groans.” Neither sex of Resident orcas wander from the natal family and its home range.” ~ David Kirby, Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity
“New cetaceans are still being identified in the 21st century, and we would do well to remember that the world harbors animals bigger than ourselves, which we have yet to see; that not everything is cataloged and claimed and digitalized. That in the oceans great whales swim unnamed by men.” ~ Philip Hoare, The Whale: In Search of the Giants of the Sea
“Humpbacks” by Mary Oliver
We wait, not knowing
just where it will happen; suddenly
they smash through the surface, someone begins
shouting for joy and you realize
it is yourself as they surge
upward and you see for the first time
how huge they are, as they breach,
and dive, and breach again
through the shining blue flowers
of the split water and you see them
for some unbelievable
part of a moment against the sky–
like nothing you’ve ever imagined–
like the myth of the fifth morning galloping
out of darkness, pouring
heavenward, spinning; then
they crash back under those black silks
and we all fall back
together into that wet fire, you
know what I mean.
Listen, whatever it is you try
to do with your life, nothing will ever dazzle you
like the dreams of your body,
its spirit
longing to fly while the dead-weight bones
toss their dark mane and hurry
back into the fields of glittering fire
where everything,
even the great whale,
throbs with song.
In addition, I also highly recommend Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us
How fun is this? I was on the cruise video for two seconds!
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Love your photos and information! I didn’t know… “They can communicate with each other from thousands of miles apart.” Humbling when I sometimes struggle to communicate with the person in the room with me :)! Lovely read!
debbie recently posted…Photo Round Up
So true. Whales and dolphins are amazingly intelligent and subtle creatures. They really do seem like gentle giants. Thanks for reading!
I have loved all of your Alaska photo’s…this one and the train one are outstanding…it reminds so much of our trip there…nothing quite like it. I felt like I was on a different planet…
Mary Oliver…just my absolute favorite…thanks Naomi…
Cheryl recently posted…Island News
I’m so glad you enjoyed them. I really hope to return some day and travel inland.
Must have been so beautiful to see.