Whale & Wildlife Report | May 5-11, 2024
PC: Andrew Aggergaard
Highlights
Blainville’s beaked whales
Short-finned pilot whales
Bottlenose dolphins
Pantropical spotted dolphins
Rough-toothed dolphins
Hawaiian spinner dolphins
Oceanic whitetip sharks
Tiger sharks
Reef manta rays
Whale & Wildlife Report | May 5-11, 2024
What an amazing week of wildlife adventures! We started our tours off strong with multiple tiger shark sightings in Honokohau Harbor. One day we spotted two as we were returning from our trip, and another day we saw one right before we departed! We always urge our guests to stay on the lookout and scan the waters below for sharks, turtles, and reef fish.
Outside of the harbor mouth, we found some sleepy pods of Hawaiian spinner dolphins which are always a great way to start the morning. As we explored Kona’s deeper waters, we were treated to a more illusive dolphin species… rough-toothed dolphins! Their common name comes from the unique ridges on their teeth, and their almost reptilian appearance helps us to identify them. We had multiple encounters on our tours, and on one trip also spotted 3 oceanic whitetip sharks cruising nearby.
PC: Olivia Miller
Our favorite dolphin encounters were with massive pods of Pantropical spotted dolphins! The groups were sizeable, full of energy, and ready to play. At one point we had about 20 dolphins riding our bow while others stampeded through the waves and surfed our wake. They were some of the best encounters we’ve ever had with these dolphins, and everyone was wowed at the lively pods!
We spent time with some amazing whales this week including Blainville’s beaked whales. Blainville’s are one of the beaked whale species that we may see in Kona’s waters (check out last week’s report to read about our encounter with Cuvier’s beaked whales). They can be more shy, but the group of 6 that we found gave us some great looks! Our naturalist noticed one calf in the mix, not brand new but still very young which was cool to see. These whales like many others prefer deep waters, and we said sayonara after they disappeared on a long dive.
PC: Andrew Aggergaard
Our tours also had lots of interactions with short-finned pilot whales! Pilot whales are the pelagic whales that we most often encounter, and they’re an awesome species to witness. We never know what kind of behaviors we’ll see, but we had some active encounters this week. A large pod of about 30 individuals circled us offshore, and we spent almost 40 min shut down with engines off as they logged, spyhopped, and vocalized! You could hear their vocalizations below when they passed underneath the boat, and the calves were squeaking at the surface! We found another pod traveling fast in about 9,000 ft of water, and multiple other groups in travel mode along the coastline. We thoroughly enjoy spending time with this species, and it’s so much fun to teach our guests about this unique population!
PC: Olivia Miller
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