Whale & Wildlife Report | March 16-22, 2025
PC: Olivia Miller
Highlights
Humpback Whales
Bottlenose Dolphins
Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins
Hammerhead Sharks
Tiger Shark
Reef Manta Rays
Green Sea Turtles
Schooling Tuna
Glimpse Of Whale Shark
Whale & Wildlife Report | March 16-22, 2025
It’s the final week of our humpback-focused whale watching trips! This humpback season has been an incredible one and we’re still anticipating humpbacks in the area as we get into our year-round dolphin and whale watching. This week we had quite a few mom and calf pairs hanging around the coast. Some of these duos were resting or on the move, and others were super active! One little calf was going wild with tons of tail slaps and cartwheels, and mom soon joined in herself. It’s so sweet to see these pairs and we hope this new generation of whales grow up big and strong!
PC: Olivia Miller
We saw a couple juvenile humpbacks with one whale being an estimated 2 years old. We hope they enjoyed one of their first winter migrations! More mature males were duking it out in comp pod fashion. We saw a bunch of breaches, pec slaps, and dramatic surfacings. The amount of energy that they exert in these scenarios is wild! Other active humpbacks were throwing their tails, chin slapping, and making a scene at the surface. A couple of intriguing whales were also rolling and exhibiting more unusual behavior. The end of the humpback season can be one of the most exciting times to watch these whales!
PC: Olivia Miller
While on the search, we got a glimpse of a whale shark! Naturalist Olivia spotted it along with a few of our guests. After a few circles of the area, we concluded that they must have taken a deeper dive. Still super exciting! We enjoyed some hammerhead sharks as well with one who was not shy at all. They cruised next to our boat and we got some great looks! We rounded out our shark encounters with a tiger shark in the marina which is always a cool species to introduce our guests to.
PC: Olivia Miller
Our trips had two encounters with interacting humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins! The whales were doing interesting behaviors like headstands and rolling, and one bottlenose was imitating the whales by sticking its fluke up in the air. So amazing! We also had larger groups of Hawaiian spinner dolphins further north, and our guests watched them ride our bow, do flips and spins, and a couple impressive leaps. We love spending time with these sweet creatures and we can see dolphins year-round on the Kona Coast.
PC: Olivia Miller
Some liquid sunshine didn’t stop us from an amazing night with Kona’s reef manta rays! Our night manta snorkel started out a bit more wet than usual, but the rain quickly cleared and we had an awesome time. At the northern site, conditions were nice and there were tons of mantas. There had to have been around 15-20! With non-stop action and barrel rolls beneath our light boards, it was one of our favorite nights of the winter season. Bring on more mantas this spring and summer!
PC: Olivia Miller
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