Fri July 19 – Whale Watching

What an amazing experience for the passengers aboard the Viking Star yesterday! We headed off to find
the many whales encountered on Wednesday’s trip, but were happily interrupted by three separate
pods of Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins while en route. Blows from humpback whales were spotted
ahead as a minke whale and large pod of short-beaked common dolphins “welcomed” our arrival. We
sat in ‘whale soup’ as humpbacks surrounded the vessel and were seen in every direction. Two
associated pairs of whales dove in unison feeding on bait detected near the bottom. We spent time with
these and at least five other whales before moving on to a large assemblage of whales spotted ahead.
Here we encountered at least 12-18 more humpbacks, including groups of five, three, and two
individuals tightly swimming together. With prey here patchily distributed, the whales spent more time
approaching the vessel than feeding. Multiple close approaches by the three groups of humpbacks
continued for an hour to the delight of everyone onboard. Short-beaked common dolphins charged
ahead of the whales and repeatedly swam around the vessel offering everyone excellent viewing
opportunities. Just as we prepared to leave, a minke whale and shortfin mako shark were spotted to top
of the action. We know this was not the first human encounter for the mako because a tagging device
was attached to the animal to help understand its habitat use and distribution. As with our other
encounters, the shark ‘cooperatively’ stayed near the surface allowing excellent views. It was an
incredible day spent with many of the apex predators that call this beautiful ecosystem home.
We don’t know how long these amazing sightings will continue. Don’t delay; come out with us today!

22-26 humpback whales
1-2 minke whales
100-140 short-beaked common dolphins
50-80 Tamanend’s bottlenose dolphins
1 shortfin mako shark
60-80 Cory’s shearwaters
12-20 Sooty shearwaters
50-80 great shearwaters
120-150 Wilson’s storm petrels