Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins

A few years before we moved to the Island of Oahu on a permanent basis, we frequented the islands on many a vacation. This one particular May we headed over to Kauai. While we were there we did some really cool things and took a few tours, but one that was very memorable was the Blue Dolphin Charter trip.

The whole experience was great. The crew made it so much fun and the snorkeling was fantastic; but one of the best things was, being surrounded by Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins as we headed to and from our snorkeling destination. The Spinners were attracted to the waves created by the boat. It is believed that they do it for the pure enjoyment....just the way that humans like to body surf. Wow, it was an amazing sight!

Spinners share many of the same characteristics as other dolphins; their bodies are slender; they have thin, long beaks; and their flippers are small and pointed at the tips. However, Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins, Nai'a in Hawaiian, are shaped and colored somewhat differently from other dolphins. They have distinctive three-toned coloration. Spinners have more teeth than other species of dolphins; they line up on each side of their upper and lower jaws.

Hawaiian spinners feed at night in the open ocean but they come into shore to rest, avoid predators, care for their young and reproduce during the day. The Spinners carry their young inside their womb and gestation is about 10 months. The female can give birth to a single calf every 2-3 years. The baby will drink its mother's milk up to 18months old in some cases.

• Dolphin pods rely on specific individual dolphins to keep them together. "Friends" may swim along, touching flippers and stroking each other. Spinners make sounds by trailing bubbles from their blowholes. Spinners often make "play-toys" of objects in their environment; and of course they are famous for their spinning. They jump high out of the ocean; twist their bodies into graceful curves (spinning) up to 7 rotations, before splashing back into the water.

• The Spinner Dolphin has been studied in Hawaii, in captivity and in the wild. As with all marine mammals, the Spinner is protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Sources:

http://wilddolphin.org/spinner.html

http://www.pacificwhale.org/sitecontent/content.php?PageId=42