Location: Hawaii
Bottlenose Dolphin #093, known now as He‘e Nalu, was initially sighted on January 9, 2010, and has been seen repeatedly over the years in inter-species interactions with humpback whales. While researchers are not exactly sure why these associations occur between these two species, some theories suggest that it might be a play-like behavior for the dolphins. During the most recent sighting with this dolphin on April 20, 2021, PWF researchers were able to successfully launch the drone and collect valuable body measurement data. This method of data collection will help the Research team learn more about the body condition and health individual dolphins.
NMFS LOC #18101