Wild Wonders: Witnessing Bubble Net Feeding at Kenai Fjords

Kenai Fjords National Park is located in south central Alaska and is a breathtaking expanse of glacial landscapes, rugged coastlines, and rich marine ecosystems. Established as a national park in 1980, it encompasses over 600,000 acres. Well, we grabbed a train from Anchorage and headed over to Seward, got on a boat in order to explore the national park from the water. Shortly after we got on the boat, we noticed several other boats sitting around, watching something. And then we saw it. Whales in the water. So cool. What we quickly realized we were watching was bubble net feeding. It's a fascinating and complex feeding technique employed primarily by humpback whales, which showcases their remarkable intelligence and social behavior. It's a sophisticated foraging technique that involves a coordinated group of humpback whales to trap schools of fish. It kind of is four steps of what happens. The first step begins with whales locating a school of fish, often through a combination of vocalizations, echolocation, and visual clues. Once a suitable school is identified, the whales begin to communicate with one another. The whales then position themselves in a circular formation around the school of fish. As they begin to dive, they release a stream of bubbles from their blowholes. The bubbles create a physical barrier that confuses the fish and restricts their escape routes. Once the bubble net is fully formed and the fish are disoriented, the whales swim upward in a coordinated effort. They open their mouths wide and allow them to take in large quantities of the fish trapped within the bubble net. The whales then often dive back down to repeat the process. This behavior involves multiple whales, which highlights their social nature and communication skills. Research indicates that not only do whales communicate through vocalizations, but they also display a range of non-verbal signals, like they may change their bubble blowing patterns or adjust their positions to optimize the formation of the bubble net. The flocking of the birds was always the first indication that the whales were about to surface. As we progressed, we got to see even more of the beautiful coastline and a bunch of other different types of animals, seals, and birds, and a variety of other things. It was really special. Finally got to the end where we could see some glaciers up close and personal, and man were they ever beautiful as they kind of flowed down into the water. We didn't see any calving on this trip, but man was it beautiful. And I love the way that the National Park Service restricts the boats that come in here a bit. I'm sure that really contributes to the preservation of the ecosystem. Well, thanks so much for traveling to Alaska with us. I hope you enjoyed this video, and I hope to see you on the next one.