A rare group of false killer whales has been located and tagged off the Kohala coast.
Scientists with the Cascadia Research Collective spotted the elusive group of about 20 animals on Saturday, the first sighting since 2011. The whales were spread over miles of deep water at the north leeward end of the island, said researcher Robin Baird.
“We’re just excited to learn where they’re going to go,” Baird said.
Because the endangered whales act very differently from two other resident groups, scientists have been able to learn little about their habits. By tagging three of the individuals over last weekend, researchers hope to learn where the whales spend time and what habitats are important to them, said Baird. The tags, which were attached remotely using titanium darts, will transmit a location 10 to 12 times a day.
The information will lead to greater understanding of the species and help fisheries managers designate habitat at some point in the future. Because they feed on the same fish as humans — ono, ahi, mahimahi — scientists hope to study the overlap of the whales’ territory with fishing grounds and possible interactions with fishing gear, Baird said.
In the few days since they were tagged, the group, called “Cluster 2,” has hung out between Kawaihae and the Alenuihaha Channel. Another resident group, “Cluster 1,” is frequently spotted on both sides of the island. A third group, “Cluster 3,” is seen a couple of times each year.
Researchers were combing the waters for a week in a response boat manned by seven people with binoculars when they chanced upon the whales. The non-profit organization studies pods all around the Hawaiian Islands.
“Saturday was our last day on the water and the winds were calm, so we were able to spend time in deep water north of Kona, an area we rarely get to,” Baird said.
Kailua-Kona resident Julie Steelman was along on the expedition and witnessed the hunters catch and share a large tuna and fend off several oceanic whitetip sharks and short-finned pilot whales.
“There is a lot going on in the deep ocean waters with these predators we don’t always get to witness,” she told West Hawaii Today. “I find the experience enthralling and exciting. It makes me want to help protect them since the Hawaiian population is so small.”
Deron Verbeck is a captain with Wild Hawaii Ocean Adventures tours in Kailua-Kona, and has sub-contracted for Cascadia on several research projects. Although Verbeck has had extensive in-water experience with false killers, seeing the whales fend off the sharks so they could feed was a first, he said.
“Also, to have a group of short-finned pilot whales show up on the scene and then show interest in the false killers’ ‘kill’ was amazing as well, another first,” he said. “They were obviously interested in the large ahi the false killers had and were in serious pursuit of them, possibly trying to steal the fish away.”
One of the whales spotted Saturday was first seen 29 years ago. The highly social animals live into their 60s, with strong social bonds, cooperative hunting and sharing of the prey, said Baird.
Listed as endangered in 2012, the whales are the rarest cetacean in Hawaiian waters. Due to pesticides, other pollution and fisheries bycatch, scientists believe only 150-200 remain in the main Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii’s false killer whale research on the web: http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/Hawaii/MayJune2015.htm