Whale & Wildlife Report | February 26 - March 4, 2023
Highlights
False killer whales
Humpback whales
Breaching humpback calves!
Humpback vocalizations
Reef manta rays
Hawaiian spinner dolphins
Whale & Wildlife Report | February 26 - March 4, 2023
It’s peak humpback season in Kona! If you’re on the island or arriving soon, now is the perfect time to see humpbacks off the Kona Coast. We encountered lots of wildlife this past week on our night manta and whale watch tours, and had a blast with everyone who joined us for our adventures!
Our trips took us north this week with multiple sightings off Kekaha Kai and Makalawena. We encountered a few mom and calf pairs and a group of mature humpbacks that produced amazing underwater vocalizations. With typically pleasant conditions, the Kona coast is ideal for whale watching, especially during this time of year. We see lots of humpback activity during March, and the month is already off to a great start!
We hope you enjoy the photos this week from our guest naturalist Mark Malleson! We were thrilled to have Mark join us during his time in Hawaii! Mark is an avid contributor and member of the research community, especially through his fluke photo identification work in Washington State and British Columbia. If you joined one of our trips this past week you may have seen Mark taking lots of photos during our humpback encounters! We are happy to report that he was successful in documenting multiple humpbacks that were sighted in the Salish Sea and Kona! Thank you Mark for following the humpback migration from the Pacific Northwest feeding grounds to the Hawaiian breeding grounds, and for your contribution to the research and professional whale-watching community.
We had a few highlight trips this week, but one of our favorite encounters was with a group of false killer whales! We followed an early morning report of false killer whales in the area and were able to locate them just offshore from Kekaha Kai. False killer whales are one of the pelagic species that can be found in Kona’s waters year-round. It was such a treat to find this group during our 11 AM whale watch, and we were able to spend a good amount of time with them as they cruised up the coastline. What a great week for whales!
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