After great success searching for humpback whales in Maui, I decided to switch islands and switch animals for my next ocean exploration. Today we were on the lookout for dolphins. We were searching in the calm waters off the Kona coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. The Big Island has 5 massive volcanoes on it, which block the trade winds and the large winter swells, leaving a large protected area off the west side of the island which is perfect for whale watching or dolphin watching.
There are several species of dolphins that can be found in the area. I was hoping to have a good encounter with at least one, but I was shocked when we encountered all three species in one morning! Hawaiian spinner dolphins were first on the list. These are the smallest of the three species, but can be quite acrobatic and entertaining. They live in large family groups, and are known for spinning like a spiraling football when they leap out of the water.
After a wonderful encounter with the spinners, we went offshore to deeper waters to look for pantropical spotted dolphins. We caught a very quick glimpse of a pod, but they were heading the other way. They are well known to bowride, so we turned the boat around to catch back up with them. An announcement was made for everyone to head up to the bow. Sure enough, after a few moments a large dolphin bee-lined it over to our bow and started surfing our bow wake.
A lone bottenose surfs our bow wave with a pod of spotted dolphins above
However, it was too big to be a spotted dolphin. It was a lone bottlenose dolphin! Pretty soon it was joined by a pod of spotted dolphins, all riding the bow together. I had never seen these two species sharing a surf together. The bottlenose didn't hang around for too long, but the spotted dolphins put on quite the show.
A pantropical spotted dolphin leaps through the air
I managed to snag a few pictures throughout the morning. I hope you enjoy coming along for the virtual ride. Whenever you find yourself in Kona, make sure that you check out a dolphin excursion to see this for yourself! Nature is full of amazing things.
The moment a spinner dolphin crashes back into the water after a playful leap
I've never seen a picture quite like this...a spinner dolphin mid flip
Check this out on pinmapple.com here:
[//]:# (!pinmapple 19.62263 lat -156.08290 long Dolphin Trifecta d3scr)
Dai Mar Tamarack