Rare Sighting of a North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) in Hawai'i

On 2 April 1996, a North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) was sighted in the company of three humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) off the western coast of Maui, Hawai'i (200 56' N, 1560 46' W). The right whale appeared to initiate social interactions with the humpback whales. The right whale was estimated to be 13 m in length. Its sex was undetermined. This represents the first confirmed sighting of a right whale in Hawaiian waters since 1979. The 1996 sighting was similar to those in 1979 in that a solitary right whale was observed interacting with humpback whales during a l7-day period in late March and early April. In all but one instance, there were three or more humpbacks present

Movements and Population Structure of Humpback Whales in the North Pacific

Despite the extensive use of photographic identification methods to investigate humpback whales in the North Pacific, few quantitative analyses have been conducted. We report on a comprehensive analysis of interchange in the North Pacific among three wintering regions (Mexico, Hawaii, and Japan) each with two to three subareas, and feeding areas that extended from southern California to the Aleutian Islands. Of the 6,413 identification photographs of humpback whales obtained by 16 independent research groups between 1990 and 1993 and examined for this study, 3,650 photographs were determined to be of suitable quality. A total of 1,241 matches was found by two independent matching teams, identifying 2,712 unique whales in the sample (seen one to five times). Site fidelity was greatest at feeding areas where there was a high rate of resightings in the same area in different years and a low rate of interchange among different areas. Migrations between winter regions and feeding areas did not follow a simple pattern, although highest match rates were found for whales that moved between Hawaii and southeastern Alaska, and between mainland and Baja Mexico and California. Interchange among subareas of the three primary wintering regions was extensive for Hawaii, variable (depending on subareas) for Mexico, and low for Japan and reflected the relative distances among subareas. Interchange among these primary wintering regions was rare. This study provides the first quantitative assessment of the migratory structure of humpback whales in the entire North Pacific basin

Killer Whales in Hawaiian Waters: Information on Population Identity and Feeding Habits

v. ill. 23 cm.QuarterlyKiller whales (Orcinus orca) have only infrequently been reported from Hawaiian waters, and most of what is known about killer whales worldwide comes from studies in coastal temperate waters. Here we present 21 records of killer whales from within the Hawaiian Exclusive Economic Zone between 1994 and 2004. Killer whales were recorded nine months of the year, most around the main Hawaiian Islands. Although there were more records than expected during the period when humpback whales are abundant around the Islands, there is likely an increase in sighting effort during that period. Killer whales were documented feeding on both a humpback whale and cephalopods, and two species of small cetaceans were observed fleeing from killer whales. Although it is possible that there are both marine mammal–eating and cephalopod-eating populations within Hawaiian waters, it seems more likely that Hawaiian killer whales may not exhibit foraging specializations as documented for coastal temperate populations. Saddle patch pigmentation patterns were generally fainter and narrower than those seen in killer whales from the temperate coastal North Pacific. Analysis of skin samples from two animals indicated two mitochondrial haplotypes, one identical to the ‘‘Gulf of Alaska transient 2’’ haplotype (a mammal eating form), and the other a new haplotype one base different from haplotypes found for mammal-eating killer whales in coastal Alaskan waters