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Minke Madness!

M/V Sea Lion | Naturalist Alexandria | Thursday, July 30th

Today was a really cool day on M/V Sea Lion!  We headed down to Hein Bank today to search for wild life!  As we got on scene we noticed quite a few bait balls that we stopped to check out, we knew this was a good sign!  Anytime we see bait balls we know that it is worth slowing down and investigating further, sometimes it can be something like a sea lion or a harbor porpoise, but sometimes it can also be what clues us in that there are whales in the area!  
Lucky for us, today these bait balls helped us find whales!  As we stopped to check out these bait balls we saw one sickly shaped dorsal fin surface in the distance… then another one surfaced even closer!  These sickle shaped dorsal fins could only mean one thing… Minke Whales!  Not one, but at least three or four were surfacing around us!  It was incredible to see that these animals where all in the same area, enjoying a feast of fish around them.  
These minke whales put on quite a show!  At one point we saw what appeared to be lunge feeding occurring!  Minkes are generally pretty solitary, but just like us as humans if the restaurant is good enough people will show up- and that’s what we saw today!
We got to spend a nice chunk of time with these Minke Whales before heading back- we even got to see Trotsky II- an identified Minke Whale who is often identified in this area, hanging around with us!  It was quite a special Minke day, I know I personally have never experienced anything like it!

Until Next Time,
Naturalist Alexandria 

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