Whale & Wildlife Report | March 12-18, 2023
Highlights
Short-finned pilot whales
Humpback whales
Hawaiian spinner dolphins
Reef manta rays
Sea turtles
Bottlenose dolphins
Oceanic whitetip sharks
Whale & Wildlife Report | March 12-18, 2023
We had dolphins galore on this week’s whale watch tours! Our morning departures spotted a few groups of Hawaiian Spinner dolphins just outside the harbor mouth, and one of our midweek tours encountered a massive pod (around 75+ dolphins) outside Kohanaiki. Species collided during our highlight trip of the week where we saw Hawaiian spinners, bottlenose, and spotted dolphins interacting near a juvenile humpback whale! It was incredible seeing so many different species at once engaging together. We witnessed social behaviors and even some defensive maneuvers from the humpback, likely in response to the masses of dolphins surrounding it. Some pec slaps, and a few caudle peduncle throws, reminded us of not only the beauty but the power of the massive mammals.
We are thrilled to have such great humpback sightings at this time in the migration season! Our tours encountered multiple mom and calf duos and a few of these had escorts with them. Typically, an escort is another mature humpback whale either present for socializing or breeding purposes. We got especially lucky on St. Patrick’s Day as a mom, calf, and escort group started breaching together!
Our good karma continued later in the week as we were picking up trash offshore and spotted a group of pilot whales! The group was socializing together and everyone got some great looks from the boat. We’ve been fortunate to spot a lot of pilot whales this season, and we’re always excited to spend time with the pelagic species in Kona during our trips!
Shark week! We had a few shark sightings during our trips this week and more were reported in the area! An oceanic whitetip shark was trailing the group of pilot whales we spotted offshore, and Naturalist Kelsi spotted a hammerhead shark surfacing while we were watching a group of bottlenose near town! A whale shark was also reported in the Kona area for a few days and some of our associates had some pretty incredible encounters. Sharks, like manta rays, belong to the cartilaginous fish family and a variety of species can be found in Kona’s waters year-round. We had a few shark enthusiasts onboard this week so a special shoutout to our fellow shark fans!
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