Whale & Wildlife Report | January 21-27, 2024
Highlights
Whale shark
Humpback whales
Lots of baby humpbacks!
Bottlenose dolphins
Hawaiian spinner dolphins
Whale & Wildlife Report | January 21-27, 2024
This week, we had some thrilling encounters on our whale-watching tours! We prevailed through the occasional impressive swell and were rewarded with even more impressive humpbacks! We found many mom-and-calf pairs and spent a good amount of time cruising with them. The pairings were often joined by a social and eager male, and they displayed head lunges and pec-slapping behavior. We were also treated to a few breaches, and we watched as a mom showed her baby the ropes and the two breached continuously together! Launching out of the water requires tremendous effort, and witnessing a breach is always a sight to behold. The number of humpbacks on the coast continues to amaze us, and we’re excited to get back on the water for our upcoming adventures!
Our hydrophone picked up some beautiful vocals from multiple creatures beneath the surface. This week we listened to the sounds of singing humpbacks and the communications of bottlenose dolphins! We found pods of bottlenose dolphins during our tours, and guests had the opportunity to watch from above while also listening to their activity below! With our lowered bow ramp, we got some great glimpses at bottlenose and Hawaiian spinner dolphins. One of our tours encountered a white Hawaiian spinner dolphin that our crew has nicknamed “Ghost”; an individual dolphin that we’ve seen more recently on our tours. Our most exciting dolphin encounter occurred offshore after one of our Naturalists spotted some abnormal splashing. After further observation, we believe it was a group of pelagic bottlenose dolphins which is an incredibly rare sight!
Our focus during the humpback season is of course… humpbacks, but this week we also had an amazing encounter with a whale shark! We were cruising near the Blue Mariculture fish pens when our Naturalists spotted the large spotted creature! The whale shark looked to be full grown and seemed to be equally as curious about us as we were about it! Guests and crew enjoyed a lengthy encounter with the individual, and the first photo in our whale report features a photo taken by Naturalist Olivia of the gentle giant!
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