Just a short note to announce some sad news.
A couple days ago, NOAA reported that a local Juneau baby whale named Tango had been struck by a boat and killed.
Every summer Juneau area hosts a small population of Humpback Whales. In our travels to our Island homestead we often see them. Tango was a favorite sight this year, according whale watching crewmembers I spoke to recently. I am sure they are devastated.
Here in Southeast Alaska we are in the waning days of a record tourist season… 1.6 million cruise ship visitors in Juneau this year. To our tiny harbor and isolated town of 30,000 souls.
Cruise ships, whale watching charter boats, fishing charter boats, and recreational boats of all kinds, most local, but some from anywhere in the world make the (otherwise pristine) waters of Southeast Alaska a busy place in summer.
According to NOAA’s press release, there may have been a witness. Tango’s remains were found washed up on Hump Island. There is an investigation. NOAA is saying little more until the investigation is complete.
I will have more to say about this when more is known. The pressures of tourism may or may not be a factor.
As my readers know, the loss of the frontier way of life due to tourism and the effects of climate change are a favorite topic of ours. Stay tuned.
Devita and Ross
Devita Stipek Writer is an established Alaska landscape painter and muralist. An estimated one million people experience her public work every year. In 1964 she left art school to marry an Alaska fisherman. There followed a life of adventure, tragedy, and triumph.
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