Hawaiian spinner dolphins stick together in families, or pods, where they take care of each other and socialize. A tight knit group, dolphins literally sleep with one eye open while swimming alongside a pod member doing the same, so each can watch out for predators or threats. Sometimes it’s hard to see where one body ends and the other beings when they interact in this way. Here, two smaller, adolescent dolphins swim among the pod learning the ways of the species.
Shark diving with One Ocean Diving on the North Shore of Oahu is hands down one of my favorite experiences from all my time living in Hawaii. They do a fantastic job of educating divers, making sure everyone feels safe and comfortable with shark behavior before slipping into the water. A true perception changer, the few dives I’ve done with sharks have brought me eye to eye with these creatures. Staying alert and remembering we are visiting their home, I felt completely absorbed in the moment during the dives. Sharks are fascinating marine species.
Have you even seen an ahi swimming alongside dolphins? I never had before and doubt I ever will again. This fish caught me completely by surprise as I was focusing my lens on the dolphins when an unfamiliar shaped species emerged on the scene. This was my first time seeing a live, wild ahi in the ocean and at first I had no idea what it was, but kept snapping photographs. He moved as fast, if not faster, than the dolphins and was gone just as quickly as he arrived. I do wonder if they swam more freely together before the ahi were hunted so extensively. Maybe this was a glimpse into the past, or just a rare interspecies interaction. Either way, it remains one of my most memorable underwater experiences.
