Whale & Wildlife Report | June 16-22, 2024
PC: Andrew Aggergaard
Highlights
Short-finned pilot whales
Reef manta rays
Hawaiian spinner dolphins
Bottlenose dolphins
Oceanic white-tip sharks
Tiger shark
Sea turtles
Lots of birds!
Whale & Wildlife Report | June 16-22, 2024
Summer has officially begun and Kona’s offshore whales and wildlife continue to amaze! School is out, temperatures are rising, and the best place to be is on the water. If you’re kama’aina or visiting the island in the next few months, the summer season is a great time to jump on one of our year-round dolphin/whale watching trips or night manta snorkel tours!
PC: Olivia Miller
This week we were wowed by Kona’s reef manta rays. Cruising to the manta site during a serene sunset is the ultimate way to start off a trip. We visited the northern site (our favorite) for the best ocean conditions and manta action. Once we started to build up plankton beneath our boards, we had around 10 manta rays swooping below. With our awesome ocean LED lights, we had pretty constant mantas and got some fantastic views! This trip is something we encourage our guests and visitors to experience while they’re in Kona. We had lots of first timers this week, and with the help and guidance of our manta masters, they all had an amazing time!
PC: Andrew Aggergaard
Our offshore whale encounters were plentiful with short-finned pilot whales! We found pods inshore and further out around the 5,000-6,000 ft depth line. One group of around 15 individuals was tightly logging together and in rest mode. A few lively whales decided to come over and say hello, and we enjoyed a few big spy hops! In deeper waters, we found a big pod that was spread out in smaller subgroups. As we were watching, a big male bull surprised us with an epic pass, making for our pilot whale highlight of the week! Another group had a few oceanic white-tip sharks trailing behind, and we got some great looks at their dorsal fins at the surface. Spending so much time offshore, we are observing new things every day about this unique species, and we love sharing these encounters with our enthusiastic guests!
PC: Olivia Miller
The Blue Mariculture fish pens were a hot spot for bottlenose dolphins. We refer to these pens as FADS (fish aggregation devices). They provide shelter and attract species from the bottom to the top of the food chain. The pens are a great spot to look for birds, fish, dolphins, sharks, and more! This week we saw some bottlenose dolphins leaping around the area and actively hunting. They seemed to be engaged and focused on the hunt! Further south in Kealakekua Bay, we found a nice group of Hawaiian spinner dolphins, and amongst the pod was “Ghost”! If you stay up to date on our wildlife reports, you know that “Ghost” is leucistic, and that they appear and disappear from the area often (hence their nickname). It was a great encounter and we’re already looking forward to the next time we see them!
Per usual, Honokohau Harbor also gave us some great wildlife sightings! We watching sea turtles sunning on the rocks, a tiger shark swimming below, and Hawaiian spinner dolphins cruising outside the entrance. What an enchanting week on the Kona Coast!
Interested in experiencing these tours?
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