Pinnipeds and Cetaceans

One of the things I really appreciated about traveling with Lindblad/National Geographic was the opportunity to learn about the environment and wildlife we encountered along the way. Each day we had the option of attending a lecture by one of the numerous experts on board, some of which have changed the way wildlife is managed based on their research and studies. I am not sure I could have told you what a Pinniped (including seals and walrus) or a Cetacean (whales, dolphins and porpoises) was before this trip. 

 We saw both ring seals and bearded seals on our journey although I only managed to photograph the latter. In the first photo I am featuring a young seal that came up to the ship early one morning to inspect and then continued on his way. In the photo, below, this older bearded seal seemed unconcerned with our presence as we drifted by. Seals are the main source of food for polar bears so they are usually wary of anything getting too close.

 We also saw three different varieties of whales on the trip: one Humpback, several Minkes and four different Blue Whales. The photo above and the two following are all of Blue Whales. The story of the whales in this area can be compared to that of bison in the American West. At one time there was a thriving population that was decimated almost to the point of extinction by over-hunting in the early part of the 20th century.

Blue Whales are the largest animal ever known to exist - bigger than any dinosaur. Pretty amazing considering their diet consists almost exclusively of krill (small crustaceans).

 The two photos of this animal fluking are especially amazing for me as most Blue Whales do not engage in this practice as it puts far too much pressure on their heart and lungs. It is estimated that less than 20% of these animals raise their tail flukes as they dive.

 The other large Pinniped we saw was the Walrus. On a couple occasions we saw single animals either swimming or up on ice floes and in one instance we spent quite a bit of time observing a herd huddled together sleeping on shore.

 This fellow was obviously the old-timer of the group with his white whiskers, long teeth and bumpy pink skin.

This particular walrus was sleeping on an ice floe as we went by. He raised his head to watch us a couple times but then he just went right back to sleeping the afternoon away.

Every now and then the animals in this herd would raise their heads and seem to complain about their neighbor before settling back for an afternoon nap.

 A longer view of the beach where the herd was pulled up on shore.

This last photo is actually my favorite of the walrus since it shows two youngsters horsing around in the water in front of the older animal who has buried his tusks in the sand to rest his head!