Yttygran Island Chukotka Russia
Whale Bone Alley, Yttygran Island and Bukhta Gilmimil
This morning Rodney woke us up a little before schedule advising us to look outside and enjoy the fantastic morning light! Indeed it was a beautiful early morning with sun, blue sky and great colours on the tundra. After the daily briefing we landed on Yttygran Island, site of the well known ‘Whale Bone Alley’. At this place it is indeed possible to see numerous bones, including jaws and skulls, from different species of whales, but mainly Bowhead Whales. Yttygran Island was used for many years as a place of ritual but more recently by marine mammal hunters to work on the whales and walruses they hunted at sea. While ashore we also saw great numbers of plants and flowers, Arctic Ground Squirrel and Northern Pikka. After this landing we headed east in our five Zodiacs to look for whales. We found half a dozen Gray Whales near Nuneangan Island and also had a look at the impressive bird cliffs where thousand of Kittiwakes, Black, Pigeon, Common and Brünnich Guillemots were breeding. On the way back to the ship we encountered some more whales and birds. Just after lunch we landed at Bukhta Gilmimil. Some of us walked along the riverbed searching for birds, while others took a botanical stroll or wandered through the tundra. Most of us ended up in the hot springs before we headed back to the landing site and the ship.
Read MoreThis morning Rodney woke us up a little before schedule advising us to look outside and enjoy the fantastic morning light! Indeed it was a beautiful early morning with sun, blue sky and great colours on the tundra. After the daily briefing we landed on Yttygran Island, site of the well known ‘Whale Bone Alley’. At this place it is indeed possible to see numerous bones, including jaws and skulls, from different species of whales, but mainly Bowhead Whales. Yttygran Island was used for many years as a place of ritual but more recently by marine mammal hunters to work on the whales and walruses they hunted at sea. While ashore we also saw great numbers of plants and flowers, Arctic Ground Squirrel and Northern Pikka. After this landing we headed east in our five Zodiacs to look for whales. We found half a dozen Gray Whales near Nuneangan Island and also had a look at the impressive bird cliffs where thousand of Kittiwakes, Black, Pigeon, Common and Brünnich Guillemots were breeding. On the way back to the ship we encountered some more whales and birds. Just after lunch we landed at Bukhta Gilmimil. Some of us walked along the riverbed searching for birds, while others took a botanical stroll or wandered through the tundra. Most of us ended up in the hot springs before we headed back to the landing site and the ship.
