Overview

Ocean currents, winds, and rainfall all work together to create a marine oasis around the Hawaiian Islands, providing a home for many species of dolphins and whales normally found in the deep oceans of the world. The Lives of Hawai`i’s Dolphins and Whales provides a window into the world of these mysterious creatures with stories and observations from the author’s work with Hawaiian whales and dolphins over the last seventeen years. The book includes full-color photos of each species, life history descriptions, conservation threats, and maps showing sighting locations and movements of tagged individuals among the islands and offshore. Although this work covers the well-known resident spinner dolphins and the visiting humpback whales, it particularly highlights the ten species of lesser-known open-ocean dolphins and whales that are resident to the marine slopes of the islands. These include endangered false killer whales, deep-diving Cuvier’s and Blainville’s beaked whales, abundant spotted dolphins, coastal bottlenose dolphins, cryptic dwarf sperm whales, family units of short-finned pilot whales, and social melon-headed whales, among others. The book also describes thirteen species of dolphins and whales that are found in offshore waters or visit the Hawaiian waters seasonally or occasionally, including killer whales, the iconic sperm whale, and even blue whales and North Pacific right whales. More is known about the social organization and natural history of many of these species in Hawai`i than anywhere else in the world. For all of these species, information from long-term photo-identification studies is given, with distinctive individuals tracked through time and space; for many of them, findings from studies using genetics and satellite tagging are also included. Information on predators and prey, social organization, diving, and night-time behavior, along with suggestions on how to tell some of the more difficult to identify species apart are also included. Conservation issues, as well as conservation success stories, are explored, as well as what can and should be done to help protect Hawai`i’s unique assemblage of resident dolphins and whales.

Full Product Details

9780824859985

Table of Contents

Reviews

This is marine biology at its finest. . . . The book is a rare treasure: easy-to-read marine biology with precise science that is also a dazzling picture book.-- Susan Scott, Ocean Watch, <i>Honolulu Star-Advertiser</i>

Meticulously documented, it is as scientifically rigorous as any peer-reviewed publication, yet it is written in a style that is accessible to the layperson. It is a story book. The interactions of these highly intelligent, social animals not only among themselves but also with humans and other species, make for fascinating narratives. On top of all that, the book's large format--10 inches by 8 1/2 inches--and stunning full-color photographs make it suitable to display on any coffee table. . . . Unlike many researchers and scientists, Baird doesn't shy away from making strong recommendations for the conservation of the full range of animals he describes in this book. His discussion of the conservation of false killer whales in Hawai'i, near the end, describes the long process of winning protection for their populations in the islands--a process involving, first and foremost, painstaking research, peer-reviews publications, court action, and finally, federal regulation.--Pat Tummons Environment Hawai'i The well-written text should be comprehensible to lay audiences and is supported with high quality pictures and helpful figures, most of which are distribution maps of dolphin and whale sightings around Hawaii.--Susan Scott, Ocean Watch CHOICE (June 2017) This is marine biology at its finest. . . . The book is a rare treasure: easy-to-read marine biology with precise science that is also a dazzling picture book.--Susan Scott, Ocean Watch Honolulu Star-Advertiser Reporting up-to-date science in a conversational voice, this companionable volume is filled with big blue pictures of all the cetaceans who swim around our islands. . . . The photos brim with character: A false killer whale wears a come-to-daddy smile as it bites a mahimahi that was hiding behind the photographer; a juvenile sperm whale rolls alongside a research boat, eyeing it through a curtain of water.--Susan Scott, Ocean Watch Honolulu Star-Advertiser With more than one hundred full-color photographs, illustrations and maps, the book is not only the most comprehensive single volume on Hawai'i's whales and dolphins, it's also beautiful.--Pat Tummons Hana Hou!

Meticulously documented, it is as scientifically rigorous as any peer-reviewed publication, yet it is written in a style that is accessible to the layperson. It is a story book. The interactions of these highly intelligent, social animals not only among themselves but also with humans and other species, make for fascinating narratives. On top of all that, the book's large format--10 inches by 8 1/2 inches--and stunning full-color photographs make it suitable to display on any coffee table. . . . Unlike many researchers and scientists, Baird doesn't shy away from making strong recommendations for the conservation of the full range of animals he describes in this book. His discussion of the conservation of false killer whales in Hawai'i, near the end, describes the long process of winning protection for their populations in the islands--a process involving, first and foremost, painstaking research, peer-reviews publications, court action, and finally, federal regulation.--Pat Tummons Environment Hawai'i Reporting up-to-date science in a conversational voice, this companionable volume is filled with big blue pictures of all the cetaceans who swim around our islands. . . . The photos brim with character: A false killer whale wears a come-to-daddy smile as it bites a mahimahi that was hiding behind the photographer; a juvenile sperm whale rolls alongside a research boat, eyeing it through a curtain of water.--Susan Scott, Ocean Watch Honolulu Star-Advertiser The well-written text should be comprehensible to lay audiences and is supported with high quality pictures and helpful figures, most of which are distribution maps of dolphin and whale sightings around Hawaii.--Susan Scott, Ocean Watch CHOICE (June 2017) This is marine biology at its finest. . . . The book is a rare treasure: easy-to-read marine biology with precise science that is also a dazzling picture book.--Susan Scott, Ocean Watch Honolulu Star-Advertiser With more than one hundred full-color photographs, illustrations and maps, the book is not only the most comprehensive single volume on Hawai'i's whales and dolphins, it's also beautiful.--Pat Tummons Hana Hou!

With more than one hundred full-color photographs, illustrations and maps, the book is not only the most comprehensive single volume on Hawai i s whales and dolphins, it s also beautiful.-- <i>Hana Hou!</i>

This is marine biology at its finest. . . . The book is a rare treasure: easy-to-read marine biology with precise science that is also a dazzling picture book.--Pat Tummons Susan Scott, Ocean Watch, <i>Honolulu Star-Advertiser</i>

Meticulously documented, it is as scientifically rigorous as any peer-reviewed publication, yet it is written in a style that is accessible to the layperson. It is a story book. The interactions of these highly intelligent, social animals not only among themselves but also with humans and other species, make for fascinating narratives. On top of all that, the book's large format--10 inches by 8 1/2 inches--and stunning full-color photographs make it suitable to display on any coffee table. . . . Unlike many researchers and scientists, Baird doesn't shy away from making strong recommendations for the conservation of the full range of animals he describes in this book. His discussion of the conservation of false killer whales in Hawai'i, near the end, describes the long process of winning protection for their populations in the islands--a process involving, first and foremost, painstaking research, peer-reviews publications, court action, and finally, federal regulation.--Pat Tummons Environment Hawai'i This is marine biology at its finest. . . . The book is a rare treasure: easy-to-read marine biology with precise science that is also a dazzling picture book.--Susan Scott, Ocean Watch Honolulu Star-Advertiser Reporting up-to-date science in a conversational voice, this companionable volume is filled with big blue pictures of all the cetaceans who swim around our islands. . . . The photos brim with character: A false killer whale wears a come-to-daddy smile as it bites a mahimahi that was hiding behind the photographer; a juvenile sperm whale rolls alongside a research boat, eyeing it through a curtain of water.--Susan Scott, Ocean Watch Honolulu Star-Advertiser The well-written text should be comprehensible to lay audiences and is supported with high quality pictures and helpful figures, most of which are distribution maps of dolphin and whale sightings around Hawaii.--Susan Scott, Ocean Watch CHOICE (June 2017) With more than one hundred full-color photographs, illustrations and maps, the book is not only the most comprehensive single volume on Hawai'i's whales and dolphins, it's also beautiful.--Pat Tummons Hana Hou!

Author Information

Robin W. Baird is a research biologist with Cascadia Research Collective, a nonprofit research and education organization based in Olympia, Washington.

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