HANALEI — The sight of a red lifeguard pickup creeping slowly along the sand at Hanalei Beach Park would seem normal, but on Saturday, it took on a special significance as the water safety officer corps had the added task
HANALEI — The sight of a red lifeguard pickup creeping slowly along the sand at Hanalei Beach Park would seem normal, but on Saturday, it took on a special significance as the water safety officer corps had the added task of keeping people at a safe distance from a pod of melon-head whales that had come into the bay of the popular beach.
Following a day with begrudging beach-goers who did not fully understand the situation, the water safety officers were finally joined by four Kaua‘i Police Department officers who stayed with the lifeguards until the arrival of NOAA Fisheries personnel from O‘ahu who did a hasty assessment of the situation in the waning light of evening.
“You should take a picture of the police walking up and down the beach,” one beach-goer said. “That’s something you don’t see every day.”
Gretchen Johnson, a volunteer with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary spent her day at the beach, and came prepared to even spend part, if not all, of the night at the beach in order to help keep people at a safe distance as well as observe and record the behavior of the pod that was estimated to contain between 100-150 whales.
The popular beach was lined with spectators, many of whom had seen the pod out of the corner of their eye and stayed to find out more about why and how the whales had come to visit the bay.
According to the lifeguards, the pod arrived about 7 in the morning, and with all of the activity centered around Black Pot Beach and the pier, had spent the day drifting around the vicinity of Pine Trees near the Wai‘oli Stream mouth.
While awaiting the arrival of the NOAA team from O‘ahu, one of the spectators explained that they came in a single file and clustered after coming in past the numerous boats that were anchored in the bay.
There was minimal activity from the pod which seemed to cluster around itself, the only kind of movement being an occasional flurry of activity as the whales moved back into position after the ocean currents moved them closer to the ongoing Tahiti Fete activities.
One of the policemen noted that during the course of the day, the pod did break up into several smaller groups before rejoining itself to a singular pod that appeared as a black “island” against the backdrop of the blue waters of Hanalei Bay.
Johnson said she got a call about 9:30 a.m., and armed with her binoculars, whale literature, including a whale identification chart, and notes, had spent most of the day observing the pod, her task made harder by having to field the numerous questions posed by curious spectators.
These beach-goers had a tendency to confuse the whales for dolphins, porpoises, and even sharks.
Theories as to why the pod had come inside the bay also varied with the most popular being that the RIMPAC exercises involved some highly secretive things that the military didn’t want the public to know about, one spectator noting that you could hear a buzzing in the water every 15 seconds, and whenever the buzzing occurred, the pod would stir itself into activity.
Johnson, however, said that despite the pod being quite inactive, you could hear the whale sounds from the shoreline, an aspect that a young girl quickly acknowledged.
As the afternoon turned to evening, the pod began to migrate from its Pine Trees location to a spot just mauka of the Hanalei Pavilion at about 5 p.m. where spectators lined the grassy lawn to get a view of the pod as well as the promise of a beautiful sunset.
This migration created some anxiety for Johnson who “fidgeted” each time some of the pod’s members would come uncomfortably close to the shoreline.
She was concerned about the pod beaching itself, along with other spectators who tried to anticipate what would happen should the pod try to beach itself.
Activity within the pod also stepped up at this point with several of the whales going through tail slaps and “spy hops,” a behavior where a whale would lift itself out of the water as if to get a view of what was going on.
Jean Souza, director of the Kaua‘i office of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, arrived shortly before the NOAA team of Dr. Robert Braun, as well as a staff of veterinarians, a beaching specialist, and Paul Newman, of the NOAA Enforcement division.
Following a quick assessment in the rapidly-fading light shortly before 8 p.m., Dr. Braun said that the melon head pods can reach sizes of about 600 members and the pod that was in the bay was not abnormal.
Answering questions from concerned spectators who quickly volunteered to help the task force, Dr. Braun said the pod’s arrival could have been caused by several factors among which include biotoxins, algae blooms, or even a sick or dead member of the group. He said contact has been made with groups that have access to satellite photos of algae and chlorophyll in the oceans, and they are awaiting results of these inquiries.
Dr. Braun theorized that there may be one reason why the group arrived, and another reason why they’re still here. He said that melon-heads use their heads to see, relying on their sonar system, and in trying to make their way out to open ocean, are “seeing” the keels of the boats anchored in the bay. “These are ‘bars’ to them,” he said.
Melon heads are “scaredy cats.” They normally shy away from things, and in the open ocean, there is usually nothing in front of them. Now that they’re in the bay, they “see” all kinds of barriers in front of them he explained.
However, with limited experience with melon head whale pods, Dr. Braun said the group’s immediate concern was public safety.
“These critters are pretty powerful,” Dr. Braun said. And, people can get hurt if they try to get the whales back in the water should a beaching occur.
“The pod can also attract sharks,” Dr. Braun said. Another factor brought forward by the NOAA specialist was that the whales can carry diseases which can be transmitted to humans.
Working with the lifeguards, Department of Land and Natural Resource enforcement officers, and the Kaua‘i Police Department, a perimeter would be established to keep people at a safe distance while the team does further assessment of the situation. This perimeter would take into account the fact that many people want to enjoy the beach as part of their long July Fourth weekend.
Dr. Braun also explained that the animals’ welfare was on their list of concerns, and his staff had already made arrangements to have tests worked on in cooperation with Wilcox Hospital, the group arriving with the necessary items needed to conduct medical tests.
Working with Newman of the NOAA Enforcement division, KPD officers assured the task force that they would be monitoring the situation throughout.
The NOAA beaching specialist who accompanied the task force here, the specialist knowing best what the group needed and how many people would be required to monitor the pod, would establish a volunteer corps of observers.
As the darkness of night enveloped the gathering on the beach, Dr. Braun said there is not much the group can do except keep an eye on the pod. “This can go on for a while,” he said. “Or, they could just raise a fluke and say, ‘Aloha’ and swim out.”
On Sunday, with the reason for the inland migration still unclear, the NOAA task force in cooperation with community volunteers, the canoe clubs, and local fishermen attempted to shepherd the pod outside the bay starting shortly after 9 a.m. as several hundred spectators looked on, their interest piqued by news reports on the television news and newspapers.
Souza, who was on the scene Sunday, said the concern was that the task force leaders wanted to get the whales out to deeper water while they were still mobile.
The whales had not eaten since coming inside the bay Saturday, and Souza said the NOAA task force had ascertained the pod was a “mixed group” which meant it contained young calves as well as older individuals, raising concern for dehydration, especially for nursing mothers.
Since there were no carcasses that washed up overnight, the task force leaders assumed there were no dead or unhealthy whales.
Utilizing the beach morning glory vines, five canoes and about six kayaks entered the water along with a group from shore that utilized the “hukilau method.”
Gently, and quietly, the operation nudged the pod further and further from shore until, just about an hour after starting, the pod was well outside the bay. As the yellow cautionary tapes were being removed, a pule by the community celebrated the success of the movement, and as a precautionary note, the NOAA task force would remain on scene for a few more hours to monitor the situation. As for the last such inland sighting, Dr. Braun said that a pod came in the 1870’s in Hilo Bay. “And, the people there just drove them in, and ate them.”
Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) and dfujimoto@pulitzer.net
