Whale-dolphin hybrid has scientists looking for answers

Kauai

Whale-dolphin hybrid leaves scientists looking for answers

A biological quirk has left marine researchers stunned.

A likely hybrid between a melon-­headed whale and rough-toothed dolphin was spotted off Kekaha during an 11-day field project this month, the Garden Island reports.

Its blotchy hide led the researchers to nickname it Oreo.

“It was side by side with a melon-­headed whale as a pair, which was strange because it’s unusual to see such a small group,” said Robin Baird, who headed up the project with Cascadia Research, based in Olympia, Wash.

Melon-headed whales are a rare sight off Kauai because the population that hangs out around the island cruises throughout the entire archipelago, as opposed to the resident population that lives off Hawaii island.

In addition to the probable hybrid, the research team encountered a group of about 200 melon-headed whales during the project, which started Aug. 4.

“It’s unusual off of Kauai, for sure,” Baird said. “We were able to get a biopsy of the probable hybrid, and it’ll be easy from the genetics to say what species (it is).”

The coloring of the probable hybrid is blotchy and reminiscent of the coloring of a rough-toothed dolphin.

“There are no other species on Kauai that have the blotchy pattern,” Baird said. The coloring, combined with a gently sloping head shape, indicates a cross between a melon-headed whale and rough-toothed dolphin.

Tracking the movements of target species — like melon-headed whales — before, during and after Navy submarine operations was one of the two main goals of the research project.

To do that, researchers deployed satellite tags that track movements of the animals.

Six were deployed during the August project. Two were attached to rough-toothed dolphins, two were deployed on melon-headed whales and two were deployed on spotted dolphins.

It was the 10th day in the field when researchers finally tagged the two melon-­headed whales, after their first encounter with the group.

“It’s perfect timing that we get these tagged because they are a species known to be sensitive to sonar,” said Daniel Webster, research associate with the project.

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