Dan Olsen
NATURALIST
“I’ll sit for a while and watch one whale, one bird, one bear. I’ll pay attention to its movements, its decisions, its struggles, its reactions. We’re just touching the surface of animal intelligence and emotion. The minds of these magnificent creatures are mysterious, complex, and fascinating.”
Next Expedition:
Private Departure to Iceland and Greenland
Dan has had a lifelong fascination with marine animals and a seafaring life, having worked as a guide and naturalist his entire adult life. He began his career teaching sailing, navigation, mountaineering, and kayaking at Outward Bound and aboard tall ships. Transitioning his skills to expedition ships was a natural progression.
Since 1993, Dan has been a licensed boat captain, running about a thousand Alaska boat tours featuring whales, seals, puffins, seabird colonies, and calving glaciers. He has also guided tours in Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland, the Northwest Passage, Svalbard, Chile, Panama, Costa Rica, the South Pacific, Europe, and Hawaii.
In 2004, Dan began researching killer whales while working as a tour boat captain in Alaska. He recorded whale calls, identified distinct pod dialects, and investigated seasonal distribution and social behavior, earning a master’s degree in fisheries biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2017. Dan published papers on killer whale distribution and social behavior and presented his research for the BBC production, Alaska Wild Live.
When not studying killer whales, Dan works as a naturalist in the Antarctic and Arctic. In his spare time, he enjoys backcountry skiing, kayaking, sailing, hiking, stream-dipping, juggling, and studying ancient star navigation. His next adventure will likely be to Nepal or Patagonia. Dan lives a short bike ride away from Kenai Fjords National Park in the charming fjord town of Seward, Alaska.
Follow Dan
