Nearly 300 humpback whales, or koholā, were observed in one 15-minute period across the Hawaiian Islands on Saturday morning, the first day of the 2025 Great Whale Count/Sanctuary Ocean Count.
The citizen science project brings volunteers together to tally humpback whale sightings and document their behavior from various lookout points around the islands.
Over 400 volunteers for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary and the Pacific Whale Foundation scanned the ocean — many with binoculars — to spot the breaching creatures.
The volunteers documented 2,121 sightings statewide throughout the morning, but that tally includes duplicates.
The coordinated count was the first of three this season between the two organizations, which have conducted their counts simultaneously since 2019. The next counts are Feb. 22 and March 29.
Whales typically return to the oceans surrounding Hawaiʻi to mate, calve and nurse their young during the winter season from November through May. Go slow, whales below — words of warning for whale-watching vessels.
Sign up for the count here if you're on Oʻahu, Kauaʻi or Hawaiʻi Island — and here if you're on Maui.
