Humpback whales increasingly sighted in Arctic Alaska waters better known as bowhead territory

A humpback whale breaches in Kenai Fjords National Park on June 12, 2013. Humpback whales, with their distinctive fins, are being increasingly spotted farther north in Arctic waters used by ice-adapted bowhead whales.

“It should have been a bowhead because that’s all that’s ever up there that time of year,” Harcharek said A bowhead whale skull, seen on Aug. 6, 2022, is one of several displayed on the beach at Utqiagvik. Bowhead skulls are thick enough to break through sea ice, and they are among the characteristics that allow the whales to thrive in Arctic waters. Bowhead hunting is an important part of Inupiat culture.

That led them to a search of records kept by the borough and to consultations with Inupiat residents. People were eager to share their knowledge with George, Stafford said. Another factor that might be at play, also related to climate change, may be warmth-driven changes in the food web that created more favorable foraging conditions for humpback whales, Stafford said.

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