Photographing Offshore Odontocetes of Hawaii
We are ringing in the new year with rare sightings of offshore odontocetes, or toothed whales, here in Hawaii. Some, like the short fin pilot whale can only be seen in water that is thousands of feet deep, while spinner dolphins and bottlenose can be seen closer to shore. With this in mind I like to check both areas to set up some fun photo encounters with these rare animals. Short Fin Pilot Whale The short fin pilot whale ( Globicephala macrorhynchus ) is found all around the worlds tropical seas, however there are several resident pods here in Hawaii that live here year round. They are most often spotted off the deep coast of the Big Island, where the volcanoes plummet down to a depth of around 15,000ft. We finally found the resident pod cruising near the surface a few miles offshore. They are readily identifiable with the wide dorsal fin of the males. I have swam with them before but it can be risky as they are top of the level predators, and they often have an o...