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| Fin Whale showing its back and fin. |
6/23/2012 Saturday
Not long after we started some activities with the young explorers, the Bridge reported blows from fin whales in the distance. It seems that every time we get together with the kids, we get a sighting. Thankfully, most of the kids are as excited as “the teachers” to go and check it out. I knew that the ship had headed out to the drop-off (edge of continental shelf) on our way back to Longyearbyen. This is where upwelling occurs in which cold currents from the deep are forced upwards by the slope of the drop-off, carrying with it nutrients to support the ocean food chain. It is a great feeding ground for whales, but I didn’t get my hopes up as I figured that would be just too greedy. This time, by the time I found a spot on the bow to view the whales, they were pretty close. We again started with Fin whales (2nd largest whales) but it was more obvious that there were two of them. I have some pictures of them swimming side by side. And, just like last time, a Blue whale swam near the ship. This one only fluked 2-3 times, but it hung with the ship for quite a long time and gave us many views of its enormous back. I cannot believe that I started and ended my expedition with the largest mammal, the incredible Blue Whale!
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| Two Fin Whales. |
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| Blue Whale with its tiny fin. |
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| More of the Blue Whale's big back. |
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| Blue whale starting to curve its back. |
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| Fluke is just starting to raise out of the water. |
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| Fluke up higher |
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| See the water run off of the fluke. |
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| Fluke is going down... |
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| and down. End of Day 7 Tomorrow we will disembark in Longyearbyen and begin our travel back home. |
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