Aloha,

We didn’t operate our Dolphin Watch Adventure today, so I don’t have statistics to report. But I’ll still share a Dolphin Fact of the Day with you….

Do you know how to tell the difference between Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales?

All these animals are members of the order Cetacea, and the sub-order Odontocete — which means all three are toothed whales. the word “dolphin” typically refers to animals who have pronounced beaks, falcate (curved like a boomerang) dorsal fins, and conical shaped teeth. “Porpoises” are animals with a blunt face, spatula shaped teeth (i.e. flat — like your own front teeth) and triangular dorsal fins. “Whales” are just really big cetaceans. to confuse the subject even more, a lot of local people here refer to the mahi-mahi fish as a dolphin, and the smaller toothed wales as porpoises. That’s why researchers prefer to use all these animals’ Latin names for identification.

Our next available Dolphin Watch Adventure is scheduled for next Thursday, May 10th departing on Alala from Kawaihae Harbor at 8:00 am. Please call us for information or reservations for this — or for any of our activities — at 886-6666 ext. 103.

Mahalo,

Captain Claire