Humpback Whale Tail, Juneau, Alaska #3361

Last Thursday, on October 1, the skies cleared and the ocean calmed, a rare combination in this part of the world famous for fall storms that soak us. I took advantage of the moment and hopped on a large open skiff with my friends, Paul and Rick, to look for humpback whales. There was plenty of room for self-distancing in the fresh air. This time of year, most whales have started their annual migration to Hawaii, but there are always a few stragglers that hang out in the Inside Passage into winter. The one whale we found was feeding in the deep, which meant he took long dives. In this image the whale lifts its tail, or flukes, as it prepares for a deep terminal dive. The image shows off the peduncle muscle that is located between the dorsal fin and flukes. The peduncle muscle is one of the most powerful muscles in the animal kingdom. Humpbacks use this muscle to propel their 25 to 40-ton bodies to the ocean’s depths or to leap for the skies to completely emerge out of the water, a behavior call breaching. Thank you for visiting and be well – Camera: #Nikon #D850, Lens: # Nikkor 80-400mm, Digital Capture, Handheld ©Mark Kelley