Glacier Bay’s humpbacks are recovering, slowly, from 2014-16 marine heatwave

Whale #2161 diving in Glacier Bay in 2025. (Piper Bishop, taken under the authorization of NOAA Scientific Research Permit No. 27027/NPS)
Spring is one of Christine Gabriele’s favorite times of year. She spends her days in and around Glacier Bay National Park, watching as the area’s humpback whales return after wintering overseas.
“It’s like taking attendance and seeing your old friends,” said Gabriele, who has been a whale biologist in the park for nearly four deca