Whales! We had almost daily sightings of killer and humpback whales. Bubble net feeding is a new phenomenon in Antarctica – passed along from a random northern humpback whale, in which a group of whales swim in a shrinking circle blowing bubbles below a school of krill. This column of bubbles surrounds the krill, forcing them upward. The whales spontaneously swim upward through the bubble “net”, mouths wide open, catching thousands of krill in one gulp. They also make a very satisfied whale call at the surface as they crest. It was magical, and it went on for two hours. The captain and crew were astonished – they’ve never seen anything like it.
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- Humpback whales cresting near the bow.
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- See the churned turquoise water and the seagulls? That was our indication of a bubble feeding in the making.
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- Humpback whales saluting a farewell in the sunset, after entertaining us for hours.
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- Orca’s teeth are most similar to T-Rex. They are truly fearsome killer whales.
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- Orcas cleverly group charging an iceberg, to make a wave strong enough to tumble that delicious seal into the water.
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- We had a team of killer whale researchers on board that captured this shot of a large pod.
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- National Geographic photo of a killer whale and a very surprised penguin.
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- Our spectacular kayak ride near the icebergs.
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- An enormous elephant seal. Naturalists on board estimated his weight at 6,000 pounds.
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- This fur seal looks a little scrawny. One fur seal eats about one TON of krill a year.
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- A weddell seal looking happy and cozy on his iceberg.
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- Vikings greeted our zodiak with hot cocoa spiked with peppermint schnapps!
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