Yesterday’s post included the grand Ice Kingdom we experienced as we pulled into LeConte Bay, heading towards LeConte Glacier. Today’s post includes some photos of the area’s most popular residents, the Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina). It is very common to find large numbers of harbor seals swimming and lying about the icebergs at the foot of a glacier. They do this mostly for protection from their main predator, Orcas (“Killer Whales”). With a dense icefield, the Orcas have a hard time navigating all the icebergs and it is very difficult for them to successfully hunt in these conditions. So the harbor seals will congregate near glaciers when it is time to give birth to the pups, and will stay in the area until the pups are older and stronger, and more able to take care of themselves.
Here are a few images of the harbor seals of LeConte Glacier:
And as we got closer to the glacier, you could see lots of harbor seals lying at the foot of the glacier:
Tomorrow, in the conclusion of the LeConte Glacier posts, I will share some images of another mammal we saw along the bay, as well as a few scenics I photographed as we left this magical place.
