Whale & Wildlife Report | March 3-9, 2024
Highlights
Humpback mom and calf pairs
Schooling hammerhead sharks
Tiger sharks
Bottlenose dolphins
Short-finned pilot whales
Oceanic whitetip sharks
Pantropical spotted dolphins
Sea turtles
Reef manta rays
Whale & Wildlife Report | March 3-9, 2024
We had so many excited first-time whale watchers this week! Although we have species of whales year-round, the humpbacks are only here for a few months! We’ve had some amazing encounters this season and this week was no exception. We found some interactive mom and calf pairs and some babies that are starting to look a lot bigger! March is a great time for interactions, as the babies are growing larger and gaining confidence and curiosity. We had some great looks at these pairs and a few babies were testing their power and limits! One baby breached at least 20 times, and just when we thought they would get tired, they continued to roll and slap their fins at the surface. The endurance of humpback whales continues to impress us!
With a few longer downtime individuals, we had the opportunity to use our hydrophone. On multiple trips, we spotted a few heat runs in the distance and a couple of spread-out blows. When action has ceased at the surface, we break out our hydrophone to listen below! Male humpbacks sing the same song and that song changes every season. This coordinated effort is one of the most fascinating displays and every time we get to listen it takes our breath away. One snippet of the song this season sounds very guttural (straight out of a sci-fi film)! During one incredible encounter, the song was so loud that we shut down and were able to listen through the hull of our boat without needing a microphone in the water!!
We were thrilled to spend time with multiple pods of pilot whales this week! Both groups were further offshore, and to our luck, were spending a lot of time at the surface. We spotted some larger males and found ourselves surrounded. Our naturalists also pointed out oceanic whitetip sharks trailing the pods, but this was only the beginning of our shark encounters. We also found schooling hammerheads logging at the surface and giving us some amazing rare looks! In the harbor, guests saw tiger sharks swimming below, and during wash down our crew was greeted by a massive 16 ft tiger shark behind our swim step! As enthusiasts of all marine life, we get just as excited about our shark encounters as our ones with whales!
The wild encounters continued with pods of dolphins, surface-feeding mantas, and some amazing action on our night manta snorkel trips. We love when our guests choose to join our manta and whale watch adventures, and we’re excited for calm conditions and more manta trips this spring and summer. With so many species encounters on our tours as of late, we’re eager and ready for more!
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