{"id":13,"date":"2014-06-20T03:39:51","date_gmt":"2014-06-20T03:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/?p=13"},"modified":"2014-10-25T14:06:56","modified_gmt":"2014-10-25T22:06:56","slug":"juneau-a-humpback-whales-summer-vacation-destination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/travel\/juneau-a-humpback-whales-summer-vacation-destination\/","title":{"rendered":"Juneau, a Humpback Whale\u2019s Summer Vacation Destination"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gastineau<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>Whether cruising the inside passage, kayaking across Auke Bay or relaxing atop a bluff overlooking Favorite Channel, you\u2019re likely to see humpback whales lollygagging or logging, lobtailing or flipper slapping, or lunging or plunging in search of scrumptious krill and schools of fish.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/address>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ===<\/address>\n

Thanks to the humpback whale\u2019s endangered species status, current protection by the <\/span>International Whaling Commission<\/span><\/a> <\/span>and abundant fish, more and more humpback whales are making Juneau their summer vacation destination. Humpback whales are the most commonly sighted baleen whale in Juneau waters.\u00a0 In fact,\u00a0whale-watching tour operators are\u00a0so confident their guests will see at least one humpback whale, the companies offer whale-sighting guarantees.<\/span><\/p>\n

So how are Juneau-area humpbacks doing? So well that\u00a0Alaska\u2019s Department of Fish and Game<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/a> <\/em>recently filed a petition<\/span>\u00a0<\/a>with the National Marine Fisheries Service<\/em><\/span><\/a> seeking to remove Juneau-area humpbacks from the endangered species list, stating that the humpback whale population has rebounded from dangerously low levels just a few decades ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe subpopulation of humpback whales that migrates seasonally between Alaska and Hawaii has recovered, is no longer threatened with extinction…,\u201d stated the petition<\/span><\/a> <\/span>submitted last February. A decision on the petition is pending.<\/span><\/p>\n

About 60 humpback whales frequent
\nJuneau’s fiords and channels <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Found in all of the world\u2019s oceans, humpback whales generally spend their summers in temperate or polar waters, including the fjords, passages and channels of Southeast Alaska. In fall, most migrate south to warmer tropical waters for breeding and birthing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough it is possible to see whales in Juneau waters any month of the year, whales are most frequently sighted from May through November,\u201d says Suzie Teerlink, a Ph.D. student within the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks<\/span>.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Ms. Teerlink and fellow researchers at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u2019s Auke Bay Laboratories<\/span><\/span><\/a> have developed a website tool for tracking Juneau-sighted humpbacks’ migration routes worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just as humans have unique fingerprints, each humpback has unique identifying coloring and scars on the underside of its fluke (tail). Humpback whale researchers around the globe share their catalogs to compare fluke photographs and determine, or confirm, whale sightings.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Before web-based cataloging, researchers shared film photos to determine humpback migration routes. It is through cataloging flukes, that researchers have determined that many of Juneau\u2019s summer-resident humpbacks migrate to Hawaii in the fall and to Juneau in early spring, an arduous 6,000-mile, round trip trek. One of the longest migrations among mammals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many\u00a0naturalists refer to the Juneau Humpback Whale Catalog<\/span><\/span><\/a> to help guests identify humpbacks seen on whale-watching excursions. It\u2019s fun to see if our favorite whales return year after year. Check it out. Maybe you will recognize Smudge, Sasha, Dutchy, Captain Leif, Viking, Flash\u00a0or Rubber Lips on your Juneau whale watching adventure.\u263c<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

\u00a0Quick Facts: Adult Humpback Whale<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
    \n
  • 35\u00a0(10.66m) to 50 feet (15.25m) long<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Weight:\u00a0 35 tons (70,000 lb. or 31,800\u00a0kg.)\u00a0to\u00a050 tons\u00a0(100,00 lb. or 45,400\u00a0kg.)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Color: black on upper side, molted white and gray on the underside<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Most distinguishing feature: large knobby flippers, 1\/3 of body length<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Most distinguishing behavior: leaping out of the water, also known as breeching<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Carnivore: Eats daily between 1 ton (2,000 lb., 907 kg)\u00a0and 2 tons (4,000 lb., 1814kg)\u00a0of krill (shrimp-like crustaceans) and small schooling fish like herring.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    *** <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    Text and\u00a0 by Aleta Walther \u00a9 2014,<\/strong>\u00a0Naturalist, Outdoor Excursion Guide, CIG, CTA, ATG<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    Photos by Kruss Ottmar\u00a0Krauss\u00a0@2013<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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    \u00a0Whether cruising the inside passage, kayaking across Auke Bay or relaxing atop a bluff overlooking Favorite Channel, you\u2019re likely to see humpback whales lollygagging or logging, lobtailing or flipper slapping, or lunging or plunging in search of scrumptious krill and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,21,30,24],"tags":[3,83,84,80,14,85,87,79,86,74,50,82,81,64,114],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":47,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":486,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions\/486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.prwriterpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}