Why whales in Alaska have been so happy

The Covid pandemic brought tourism to a near-halt in Alaska last year. What will happen to the majestic humpback whale when cruise ships and visitors return in August?

Christine Gabrielle sat at her desk at the Glacier Bay National Park headquarters in Gustavus, Alaska, and turned up the volume on her computer.

The sound of gurgling and bubbling water enveloped through the room. The lull was occasionally punctuated by the hollow roar of a male harbour seal, seeking to impress potential mates.

Gabrielle's computer is at the end of a five-mile long underwater cable that stretches into the frigid waters of the bay, a national preserve teeming with fish, birds, sea otters, dolphins, lovelorn seals and the area's feature attraction - several hundred humpback whales, who migrate to Alaska from the waters around Hawaii during summer months.

What has been notable for the past 18 months was what she hadn't heard nearly as much of - ships.

During a normal summer, Glacier Bay and the surrounding area buzzes with traffic, as vessels of all sizes, from massive, 150,000-tonne cruise liners to smaller whale-watching boats, ply the waters as part of Southern Alaska's massive tourism industry.