Whale & Wildlife Report | March 17-23, 2024
Highlights
Humpback mom and calf pairs
Male humpback competition pods
Bottlenose dolphins
Hawaiian spinner dolphins
Pantropical spotted dolphins
Hawaiian monk seals
Whale & Wildlife Report | March 17-23, 2024
Our tours ventured far and wide this week and were rewarded with some incredible humpback encounters. We spent time with a few mom and calf pairs, some babies looking new and others looking quite large! It goes to show just how quickly they can bulk up, growing about .5-1 inch every day at this point! During one of our more heartwarming encounters, baby was mimicking mom’s behaviors to a tee, copying her pec slaps, tail throws, and chin slaps. The mirroring was incredible to witness! On a few trips we spent time with what we think were the same two subadults hanging out offshore. The two were very active and one encounter involved at least 8 bottlenose dolphins. These multi-species encounters are always interesting and the subadults seemed to be playing off the energy of the bottlenose.
We found our last male humpback heat runs by their noticeable surface action. Kona’s conditions are great for spotting any splashes or disturbances at the surface, especially when it’s a massive breach! One male amongst a group displayed his sheer power breaching around 20 times before settling into pec slaps. The awe of witnessing a breach still gets us excited! The search is never over until we’re back at the dock, and we came across quite a few whales on our trips back to the harbor! Whale watching in the wild is a true search, and sometimes the whales find us before we find them. We were thrilled with all the humpback action in the area this week, and we hope to have a few more encounters on our upcoming year-round whale watching tours! Mahalo to all of our wonderful guests who joined us during this special season. We hope to see you on our year-round adventures and next year of course!
The Blue Mariculture fish pens are always a hot spot for wildlife like dolphins and sharks, but this week we got a great look at a Hawaiian monk seal! We were cruising by looking for hunting bottlenose when our guests spotted a large brown mass in the water. Upon slowing down to take a look, the seal approached our boat and floated at the surface around us. We don’t see this endangered species every day, and everyone onboard was jazzed about the rare encounter. We did spend time with a few pods of bottlenose and Hawaiian spinner dolphins, but we were also treated to a large group of Pantropical spotted dolphins! This species of dolphin prefers Kona’s deeper waters, and we get to see them more frequently on our year-round whale watching trips that push further offshore. The pod was very active, riding our bow and wake, leaping in the air, and turning our bow into a splash zone for our guests!
Every week is shark week in Kona with so many different species in our inshore and offshore waters! We have the potential to see tiger sharks, oceanic whitetip sharks, hammerhead sharks, reef sharks, sandbar sharks, and more. During this time of year, we are on the search for schools of hammerheads, and one of our trips spotted them this week! Their dorsal fins pierced through the surface, and we got a good look at the couple that were in view. Their schools extend below, with the alpha female at the top of the group. It was an awesome encounter and our shark lovers onboard were over the moon! We’ll keep our eyes out for more schools on our upcoming tours, and if sharks and marine life are your passion, we hope to see you on one of our adventures soon!
Interested in experiencing these tours?
Join us, experts with over 25 years of experience running professional wildlife tours. Hawaiian Adventure’s tours provide the best opportunity to explore Kona’s coast and the wildlife beneath the waves. Our top-notch vessels, experienced crew, and oceanic expertise will make your Big Island adventure unforgettable.
If you’ve been on other tours, you’ll appreciate the Hawaiian Adventures difference.
