Mysterious deaths of Gulf of Alaska whales trigger stepped-up investigation

Yereth Rosen, Alaska Dispatch News

August 20, 2015

 

Bears feeding on the carcass of a fin whale in Larson Bay, near Kodiak, on June 13, 2015. NOAA photo

A mysterious die-off of large whales in the Gulf of Alaska is now classified as an “unusual mortality event,” elevating the official response, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.

The deaths were first discovered in late May, when carcasses of endangered fin whales were found floating near Kodiak. Since then, the toll has increased, and now totals 30 whales -- 11 fin whales, 14 humpbacks, one gray whale and four unidentified cetaceans, NOAA said Thursday.

Go here for the whole article.

The Long Way

Canoeist arrives in Anchorage after 5,000-mile adventure

Minnesota adventurer Bob “Beav” Vollhaber arrived at Westchester Lagoon on Sunday after a six-month journey paddling his 17-foot canoe about 5,000 miles from Washington state to Anchorage. Vollhaber traveled “the long way” ...

... through the Inside Passage, with a portage over the Chilkoot Trail with heavy snow and snowshoes, down the Yukon River, along the Bering Sea coast, up the Kvichak River to Lake Iliamna, a portage over the Alaska Peninsula to the Cook Inlet. Vollhaber said he was "looking forward to a cheeseburger with fries ketchup and mustard and all the ice cream I can eat."

More pictures at the link.

They say he came "the long way"? That's the hard way!