Whale & Wildlife Report | December 17-23, 2023
Highlights
Humpback whales
Blainville’s beaked whales
Hammerhead sharks
Hawaiian monk seals
Bottlenose dolphins
Hawaiian spinner dolphins
Flying fish
Reef manta rays
Whale & Wildlife Report | December 17-23, 2023
The humpbacks stole the show this week and multiple tours were treated to breaches! Witnessing a full breach out of the water is a rare sight, and guests were elated with our whale luck! The action continued with lots of mom and calf sightings and a male singer that we listened to with our onboard hydrophone. The encounters varied in downtimes and activity, as it goes in the wild! We are often asked what time of day is best for sightings, and truly there is no “best” time. This week was a testament to how different back-to-back trips can be, and how varied the species are on the Kona Coast!
Our pelagic whales this week were Blainville’s beaked whales! We had multiple encounters with these elusive whales, and perhaps the most social encounter to date! Offshore, one of our trips found a group of at least 7 whales, and the group was incredibly curious and social with our presence. We spotted a few small beaked whales in the group, the older of which came right up to our port side to check us out.
Our tours aim to find as much wildlife as we can on every trip, and that doesn’t stop at whales! With so many dolphins on the Kona Coast, this week we found quite a few bottlenose and Hawaiian spinner dolphins. Some groups were more active than others, but we got some great looks as the spinners especially displayed aerials and acrobatics! The hammerheads were also out and about, and we did spot multiple sharks near the Blue Mariculture fish pens. The fish pens also provided some amazing looks at a Hawaiian monk seal, an endangered species. Every encounter with a monk seal is special, and we exclaimed to our guests what a treat the sighting was!
Guests got up close and personal with a few reef manta rays on our night manta snorkel! Our awesome guides were able to identify a few of the individuals including Lafferty, Gabby, and Mcboom. The visibility was great this week with good plankton, making for some great fly-bys and barrel rolls from the mantas. A few of our guests overcame their fears of the ocean this week, and we were honored to share that experience with them!
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