Whale & Wildlife Report | May 26 - June 1, 2024
PC: Andrew Aggergaard
Highlights
Short-finned pilot whales
Melon-headed whales
Fraser’s dolphins
Rough-toothed dolphins
Oceanic white-tip shark
Hawaiian spinner dolphins
Tiger shark
Pantropical spotted dolphins
Bottlenose dolphins
Spotted eagle ray
Whale & Wildlife Report | May 26 - June 1, 2024
So many whales and dolphins on our tours this week! While we love cetaceans, we are on the search for all wildlife during our trips. We saw sea turtles, a spotted eagle ray, and a tiger shark just in Honokohau Harbor! Outside the Kanpachi fish pens, we also found an assortment of boobies; a species of pelagic bird that is frequently perched on the buoy. Our guests enjoyed lots of mālolo (flying fish) offshore, and we spotted a few big bait balls beneath the waves. Anytime there is lots of bird or fish action, there could be bigger animals in the area!
PC: Andrew Aggergaard
We enjoyed a couple pods of short-finned pilot whales. We encountered them both offshore and right outside the harbor! Although pelagic whales prefer deeper waters, it’s not uncommon to see them in inshore areas as well. These are wild animals of course! With so many in the area, we hopped between pilot whale pods during our tours. One group had an oceanic-white tip shark trailing behind, so we got our shark fill!
PC: Andrew Aggergaard
Inshore we found a massive pod of melon-headed whales. Melon-headed whales can be in groups of a few to a few hundred, and this pod was absolutely huge! A few whales rode our bow and wake, giving our guests some amazing looks. In the mix of all the action, we also saw bottlenose dolphins and rough toothed dolphins. A week’s worth of wildlife in one crazy interaction!
PC: Andrew Aggergaard
Our dolphin sightings continued with a big pod of Pantropical spotted dolphins to the south. As we were watching the pod, we spotted a lone Fraser’s dolphin in the group. Why there was a single one with the spotted dolphins, we may never know! The group of a few hundred individuals were very curious and even splashed some of our guests onboard. We found ourselves surrounded in a dolphin lover’s paradise!
PC: Andrew Aggergaard
Further south on the Kona Coast, we did find an entire pod of Fraser’s dolphins. We’ve only seen this species a few times, and they are one of the more rare encounters when it comes to dolphins. The group was large and porpoising at high speed (around 24 mph)! They zig-zagged and changed directions like crazy, but it was still a cool interaction. We won’t be forgetting this week’s tours anytime soon!
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