1-12-12 Cetacean Day

Pilot Whales, Humpbacks, Spinners & Spotteds

1-12-12

 The seas were vibrant with life!  Our guest on the boat trip noticed ‘rocks in the water,’ dorsal fins, half a mile outside the harbor as we approached humpbacks in the area.  A scattered pod of 10 or so pilot whales were lying at the calm surface, barely traveling northward.  There were a number of large males, distinguished by much larger dorsal fins than the females.  The first time I saw a large group of mixed males, females, & young, was with John Lilly off Maui.   I thought we were seeing two different species together, three including the bottlenose dolphins also in the crowd, because the fins were so disparate in size.

It is said that fifty percent of the time pilot whales are accompanied by Oceanic White Tip sharks swimming within half a mile behind them.  I have never seen sharks with the pilots.  Oceanics are reputed to be aggressive and have investigated, hit, several photographers I know in Hawaii.  Lee Tepley and I filmed a white tip at an offshore buoy for about 40 minutes before he got nervous as the shark circled closer. I was nervous the entire time, and that’s what photographing these large creatures entails, balancing control of irrational feelings and sensitivity to intuition.  My goal was to film Lee filming the shark, and we did get that shot, but I really wanted to have the shark between us, to get a better idea of its size, and that didn’t happen.

Pilot whales also have an aggressive reputation among fishermen in Hawaii.  By some reports they may attack spinner dolphins.  I’ve had quite comfortable encounters with them while in the water, and times I have huddled next to the boat and had others get immediately out of the water.  Check this video out!

This time, I stayed on the boat.

Revisiting the Humpback whales

then moving north to find the spinners, we were delayed by a pod of Spotted dolphins!

Spotted dolphins are sighted occasionally traveling with the spinners along the coastline.  This group was a little further offshore, also headed north.  It’s great seeing babies and there were a couple in this pod.  Here’s a mom and baby having fun on the bow of the boat…

A full day of Cetaceans before reaching the pod of Spinners!  Nice to let the sun warm us up first on this exceptionally clear and cool day. 

Love from Dolphinland,

Roberta