We’ve tagged a number of species of whales and dolphins in Hawai‘i with LIMPET satellite tags over the last 17 years, and data from those tag deployments have been used in many different publications and presentations. We wanted to share animations of some of these deployments, to show how each species uses the areas around the islands differently. We have data from nine of the 11 species of odontocetes that have resident populations around the main Hawaiian Islands, and we’ll be posting animations of each of these species. Each map includes an illustration of the species by Uko Gorter.
Click on any of the species names below to jump to the animations for that particular species:
Common bottlenose dolphins | Pantropical spotted dolphins | Rough-toothed dolphins | Short-finned pilot whales
Common bottlenose dolphins
This animation shows movements over a 24-day period for a bottlenose dolphin, HITt0782 in our photo-ID catalog, first documented and tagged off Kaua‘i in 2012 during a project funded by a grant from the Naval Postgraduate School (funded by what is now called the Living Marine Resources program). This individual was seen again in 2013, 2016, and 2017, with all eight of its’ sightings off Kaua‘i, showing it is part of the resident, island-associated population. We have more photos of bottlenose dolphins off Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau from the last few years that we have not yet matched to our catalog, so it is possible this individual is still around. To learn more about bottlenose dolphins in Hawaiian waters, check out https://cascadiaresearch.org/hawaii-species/bottlenose-dolphins-hawaii/
Pantropical spotted dolphins
This animation shows two-weeks of movements of a pantropical spotted dolphin (SaTag006) tagged between Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau in August 2017. There are resident, island-associated communities of spotted dolphins off O‘ahu, Maui Nui, and Hawai‘i Island, but this species is very uncommon off Kaua‘i or Ni‘ihau, and we have rarely encountered groups there. The tagged individual spent only four days around Kaua‘i before moving on, ranging widely in open-ocean waters, providing evidence that this group is part of an open-ocean population, rather than any of the island-associated groups. If you want to learn more about pantropical spotted dolphins in Hawaiian waters, check out https://cascadiaresearch.org/hawaii-species/pantropical-spotted-dolphins-hawaii/
Rough-toothed dolphins
This animation shows 27 days of movements of a rough-toothed dolphin (HISb0431 in our photo-ID catalog, SbTag004) that we tagged in January 2012. HISb0431 was first photographed off Kaua‘i in our November 2005 project there, and we photographed him there again in 2011, 2016, and 2017. But we know HISb0431 did not remain around the island that entire time – he is one of only two rough-toothed dolphins that we’ve documented making long journeys – he and one other were sighted off Kona in September 2006. Rough-toothed dolphins in Hawai’i are often referred to as Steno, their genus. If you want to learn more about rough-toothed dolphins in Hawaiian waters, check out https://cascadiaresearch.org/hawaii-species/rough-toothed-dolphins-hawaii/
Short-finned pilot whales
This animation shows 30 days of movements of a short-finned pilot whale (GmTag051), HIGm1400 in our catalog, first documented (and tagged) off Kaua‘i in February 2011. This individual has been seen a number of times subsequently off both Kaua‘i (in February 2013, February 2014, February 2016, and February 2020) and off O‘ahu (in April 2012 by Chuck Babbitt and in September 2016 by Wild Side Specialty Tours). This individual is part of the western community of short-finned pilot whales that are found around the main Hawaiian Islands, resident to the island slopes and ranging in the area between Ni‘ihau and O‘ahu. For more information on short-finned pilot whales in Hawaiian waters, check out https://cascadiaresearch.org/hawaii-species/short-finned-pilot-whales-hawaii/