Whale & Wildlife Report | June 23-29, 2024
PC: Olivia Miller
Highlights
Short-finned pilot whales
Pantropical spotted dolphins
Fraser’s dolphins
Oceanic white-tip sharks
Tiger sharks
Sea turtles
Whale & Wildlife Report | June 23-29, 2024
The final week of June brought some of the most beautiful summer conditions we have seen this year! Summer in Kona is the best time to enjoy the beautiful glassy waters that our five massive volcanoes provide us by blocking the trade winds. It looks like things are shaping up to be an absolutely beautiful July here in Kona making it the perfect time to join us for a dolphin/whale watch or night time manta ray snorkel!
PC: Olivia Miller
This week we continued to have more pilot whale encounters! Almost all of the pods that we encountered this week were very large in size and exhibited a lot of resting behavior. One of our favorite and most peaceful times to spend with the pilot whales. A group of juveniles were very intrigued by our guests this week and came over to get a closer look. Sometimes they enjoy people watching as much as we love to whale watch! With the pilot whales we were also able to see some oceanic white-tip sharks. One was so curious and we even got to see its full dorsal fin up out of the water as it followed the pilot whales around. Always a treat to see these special sharks!
PC: Olivia Miller
While we did have incredible encounters with pods of short-finned pilot whales this week, the energetic Pantropical spotted dolphins may have stolen the show! Far offshore we spotted a large number of ‘Iwa birds (great frigate birds) so we went to check out the scene. Oftentimes these birds will be following marine predators around to help them successfully hunt for small fish. That was indeed the case, once we got closer to check out the commotion it was clear that there were hundreds of Pantropical Spotted Dolphins chasing flying fish. This predation was so exciting to watch, and once the dolphins were successful, they came to interact with our guests by bow riding on the boat as well as surfing and jumping out of the boat wake!
PC: Olivia Miller
Mixed in with the pod of Pantropical Spotted Dolphins was the lone female Fraser’s Dolphin. This rare species is infrequently encountered, but when they are spotted, they’re usually in pods of several hundred animals moving incredibly quickly. That is not the case for this female who has been adopted by the spotted dolphins. This is our fifth time sighting this Fraser’s Dolphin in this pod, and she has now been observed living with them for one month and is doing well! This is a relationship that we will continue to observe as this is the first time a Fraser’s Dolphin has ever been recorded with Pantropical Spotted Dolphins in Hawaii!
With the summer fishing tournament season being in full swing, our opportunistic tiger sharks have been frequenting the harbor for an easy snack of discarded fish! This makes for the perfect way to start and/or finish a tour by viewing one of these magnificent sharks from the boat! Cheers to an epic week on the water!
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