During our trip up the coast of Alaska we were treated to many encounters with the region's wild-life. Some of observations resulted in good photos, but others were necessarily fleeting and cameras were either not ready for use or the species in question simply sank out of view. For example, seals surfaced rarely and irregularly and despite numerous sightings remained off camera. Once we passed a shoal of Salmon but they mostly remained submerged with only their back-fins momentarily evident. Bald headed eagles were unbelievably common, but swift and irregular in height and direction. Only one remained close-by perched in a tree allowing me to capture it photographically - see below. Squirrels were numerous, but very fleet of foot, but we did see some deer walking through people's gardens in Victoria (BC).
Anyway have a look at what posed for me. We'll start with some bears housed in a disused forestry facility near Sitka. They were tended in captivity by a charitable group that rescued semi-orphaned individuals whose mothers had died and therefore needed protection from fathers who would probably have killed them. There were young brown and black bears who looked healthy and sociable even when the two different species came together. The brown, or grizzly, species shown in the first three photos is rather larger and threatening to humans. The first exhibit had largely moulted, but the others were slowly becoming browner.
And here some black bears were socialising, watched by a flock of friendly-looking crows who were perhaps seeking an easy feed. Bald eagles wheeled above these enclosures but flew so rapidly that I failed to capture one on my photos.
And here we have a family or two of sea otters who seemed rather unconcerned by our presence, though we were not really close to them.
And here's a rather nice and compliant bald eagle!
We were told that many of the wild coastal areas of Alaska were also home to moose, but none revealed itself to us.
AS
Anyway have a look at what posed for me. We'll start with some bears housed in a disused forestry facility near Sitka. They were tended in captivity by a charitable group that rescued semi-orphaned individuals whose mothers had died and therefore needed protection from fathers who would probably have killed them. There were young brown and black bears who looked healthy and sociable even when the two different species came together. The brown, or grizzly, species shown in the first three photos is rather larger and threatening to humans. The first exhibit had largely moulted, but the others were slowly becoming browner.
And here some black bears were socialising, watched by a flock of friendly-looking crows who were perhaps seeking an easy feed. Bald eagles wheeled above these enclosures but flew so rapidly that I failed to capture one on my photos.
A short while later, we took to the water to cruise the inlets around Sitka and found ourselves close to a very large pod of hump-back whales - perhaps as many as 15-20 individuals. They were not here to give birth to their young, but rather to feed, put on condition, and mate in the arctic summer before heading to warmer water for the northern winter. On seeing us, they would usually dive and swim away fro 5 minutes before they had to resurface after which our boat tried to get near to the whales who promptly dived again often with tails in the air. On several occasions there was a mass breaching of whales to the surface, one of which I managed to capture.
And here we have a family or two of sea otters who seemed rather unconcerned by our presence, though we were not really close to them.
And here's a rather nice and compliant bald eagle!
We were told that many of the wild coastal areas of Alaska were also home to moose, but none revealed itself to us.
AS
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