KONA WILDLIFE
Some of the marine animals you can find on your Big Island snorkel tour
Booking a snorkel trip on the Big Island of Hawaii is more than just slipping into a mask and flippers. It's about entering a vibrant, living tapestry of life beneath the ocean's surface! The waters of the Kona Coast and beyond are an underwater zoo full of unique animals, including some that can only be found in the Hawaiian waters of the Pacific Ocean.
They make homes amongst volcanic reefs, tucked away in protected bays and are found roaming the blue open water channels. Whether booking your daytime reef trip, or joining in for an incredible nighttime giant manta ray snorkel, learning about the ocean life you could see on the Big Island will only increase your sense of wonder!
Here are some of the amazing ocean animals you will be sure to see while snorkeling on the Big Island.
Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle
The Hawaiian green sea turtle, also called the honu in Hawaiian, is a famous symbol of wisdom, good luck, and long life in Hawaii. People often see the slow turtles feeding on algae near a shallow and sheltered bay in Hawaii.
An adult honu weighs about 300 pounds and is about three ft in length. Although it is a strictly marine species, the green sea turtle breaths air at the water's surface. They can dive up to 5 hours on only one breath.
Reef Manta Ray
The Big Island's signature night time snorkeling tour brings guests to witness the spectacular barrel-rolling performance by manta rays as they feed on plankton that have been drawn to the dive lights.
Reef manta rays are described as some of the most intelligent and elegant fish known to swim the oceans. Reef mantas can have a "wingspan" of 12 feet across and are completely harmless as they possess no teeth, stingers or barbs.
They also have the largest brain-to-body weight ratio of any coldblooded fish and are known for their intelligence and curiosity.
Locals have been able to distinguish individual rays through their unique patterns of spots on their bellies, and many repeat visitors have been given nicknames by their guides.
Spinner Dolphin (naiʻa)
Commonly known by locals as naiʻa, the spinner dolphin is known for its playful, interactive social behaviors. The spinner dolphin gets its name from its behavior of propelling itself vertically into the air, spiraling up to seven times before returning to the sea.
Packs of this incredible marine mammal will often come into shallow, tranquil bays on the Big Island to sleep and relax during the day. Spinner dolphins display behavior called unihemispheric sleep where they are only resting half of their brain so they can keep their selves swimming around and watching for predators.
The vocal behavior of these dolphins uses up to a dozen different kinds of clicks, whistles, and squeaks, each belonging to a specific pod member.
Reef Triggerfish (humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa)
The humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa, which is also Hawaii’s state fish, has one of the best names to learn. This brightly colored tropical fish dashes around coral reefs, searching for its breakfast. Reef trigger fish are opportunistic feeders of small crustaceans. They can also wedge its large dorsal spine into rocks so that larger predators can’t pull it from safety when resting.
“Trigger fish with a pig’s snout” is the translation of its native name, referring to the grunt made by these fish when annoyed or caught.
The humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa is an incredibly aggressive little fish; not one to shy away from a confrontation with a creature far bigger than itself.
Yellow Tang (Lauʻipala)
The bright lemon-yellow coloring of the yellow tang is what makes it one of the most recognizable tropical fish on the Hawaiian coral reef. Yellow tang can often be seen in groups or shoals in hsallow reef environments. They act like gardeners of the coral, feeding on invasive species of algae that tend to smother live coral and kill it if left unchecked.
Yellow tangs actually start out their lives as faint yellow juveniles with subtle white markings before developing into adults with that striking electric neon yellow color. During nighttime, their vibrant yellow body fades to a bland brownish-gray with a distinct white lateral stripe. Basically, they become naturally camouflaged while they sleep.
Humpback Whale (Kohola)
Every winter, thousands of North Pacific humpbacks swim over 3,000 miles each year from their cold Alaskan feeding grounds to Hawaii's peaceful, warm waters to give birth and raise their calves. Spotting these whales is a highlight of Hawaiian wildlife.
Baby humpbacks are fifteen feet long and can drink one hundred gallons of their mom's rich milk daily.
Performing their gargantuan surface breaches requires 40 tons of whale to leap the surface of the water and expends several thousand calories in moments.
Hawaiian Monk Seal
Found only in the Hawaiian Islands, and among the most endangered of marine mammals on the planet is the Hawaiian monk seal, which translates to 'dog that runs in rough water' in Hawaiian. Solitary Hawaiian monk seals can usually be seen napping on a sandy Big Island beach or in swimming along the outer reefs.
Monk seals can dive to over a thousand feet deep to hunt octopus, eels, and fish that live on the seabed, staying underwater with closed nostrils for up to twenty minutes.
Moray Eel
Several species of moray eels, like the yellow margin moray and snowflake moray, spend their life exploring dark reefs and lava tubes around the Big Island. Morays eels lack the pectoral fins present in most fish, causing the eel to swim through a "serpentine" movement pattern. This allow the moray to effortlessly maneuver through tight cracks and crevices of a reef.
Instead of a single set of jaws like most fish, morays have pharyngeal jaws. These "inner" jaws shoot forward inside the moray's mouth, grasp prey, and then transport it to the gut.
Many species of morays also establish cleaner shrimp relationships where tiny cleaner shrimp crawl within their mouth and clean off dead tissue and parasites.
Hawaiian Day Octopus (Heʻe)
A perfect master of camouflage, the Hawaiian day octopus is at the top the list of the smartest and most agile animals on the ocean. Whilst the majority of octopus species worldwide are nocturnal predators the heʻe is active during the day, often foraging on shallow coral reefs for prey.
They can alter not just their skin colour but texture and pattern as well at incredibly high speed to blend seamlessly into coral, sand or smooth rock within a fraction of a second.
It has three distinct hearts and copper based blood, which is blue and responsible for carrying oxygen in the marine environment.
Two thirds of an octopus's neurons are contained within its tentacles which give each tentacle a 'mind of their own' which means that each arm can independently see, touch and move, taste
Moorish Idol (Kihikihi)
This distinctive tropical fish is easily recognizable because of its lengthy dorsal filament, boldness in black and yellow vertical bars, and bold white accents. They are a common sight when snorkeling through the shallow, rocky drop offs of coral reef environments, often observed swimming in pairs or small groups.
Their species scientific genus, zanclus cornutus, refers to the small, hornlike tubercles that form above their eyes when fully grown. Their tubular snouts are uniquely adapted to extract tiny sponges and invertebrates hidden inside narrow crevices.
Booking a guided snorkel tour on the Big Island gives you a front-row seat to this complex and breathtaking underwater world. By maintaining a respectful distance and practicing responsible ocean tourism, we ensure that these magnificent marine species continue to thrive around the Big Island for generations to come.