A TikTok video posted on January 20 went viral, bringing the Eagle of Unalaska to screens around the world. It was produced by Erin Whittern, who moved to Unalaska last April.
“When my husband first told me about it, I was like, ‘Unalaska?’ What are you talking about?” Whittern said. “Everyone’s reaction on TikTok is pretty much the same, because it just sounds so weird.”
“Strange” is one way of saying it. Unalaska is an industrial city located on an island sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. It is powered by a diesel engine and fishing power. When it is not exposed to wind or rain, its natural beauty is breathtaking. In summer, wildflowers dot the island’s emerald hills, and whales invade the safe bay during migration season.
It makes sense that influencers would want to plant their flag here and create adventure content. But Whittern’s online presence is decidedly modest. She posts hiking videos, but they usually don’t “break the internet” so to speak. Things changed when she originally uploaded things for her friends and family.
Last month, Whittern posted a TikTok video that has since racked up millions of views. It’s not the dazzling scenery or the sight of wild animals roaming freely across the Aleutian tundra. It will take place at the Unalaska City Landfill.
“I went to the dump with my trash and there were a lot of eagles there,” Whittern said. “Normally there are a lot of them, but that day there were an unusually large number.”
The video begins with a dirty bald eagle wandering around by itself. Whittern then pans to another eagle. And one more thing. As one crosses the shot, a new tableau appears. It’s inside a baler building in a landfill, with an entire flock of eagles perched on top of a pile of trash. Whittern looked toward the hallway near the ceiling, where a dozen birds lined the railings.
Comments poured in from all over the world. Many viewers didn’t know about Unalaska until they saw Whittern’s post. But one skeptic never thought the video was shot in Alaska.
“Someone commented that I wasn’t really from Alaska,” Whittern said. “They’re just faking it for influence. The reason is that it wasn’t snowing in the video.”
As for future posts, Whittern’s plans remain unclear. She said some of the comments she received on her viral video made her nervous about posting again. But she still has things she wants to capture that are hard to find elsewhere.
“Now that I have a lot of followers, I’m like, ‘Maybe I should post something?'” Whittern said. “Even as I was driving here, there were some eagles sitting on a lamppost, spreading their wings to dry their feathers. I thought, ‘I bet you guys have never seen this before. I thought, ‘There shouldn’t be one.’
Regardless of what Whittern does next, one thing’s for sure: There’s no shortage of Unalaska eccentrics waiting for their moment in the spotlight.
