Hawaii Marine Wildlife Overview
Connect With Nature’s Way of Life
Hawaii offers the best dolphin tours with 18 different species of toothed dolphins, eight species of baleen whales, giant sea turtles, tropical fish, rays, monk seals, pelagic seabirds, and coral reef inhabitants.
Marine ecosystems are at the root of Hawaiian history and culture. As voyagers, early Hawaiians maintained an intimate relationship with the ocean. The Hawaiian creation chant places the origin of life at the sea, beginning with a coral polyp.
Being the most isolated islands on earth, Hawaii’s marine realm is highly unique. Of ~450 species of reef fish, ~23 % are to Hawaii – found nowhere else, anywhere. When corals, algae, etc. are included, ~62% of Hawaii’s marine species are endemic to Hawaii!
With the exception of the humpback whale, we are still learning about the distribution or occurrence of baleen whales- and orca. Fin, sei, blue whales, and a few other baleen whales that have been recorded in Hawaiian waters. While transient orca have increasingly been seen
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Wild Side’s wildlife tours focus on education and conservation so that an interactive relationship can be maintained in the best interest of both humans and dolphins.