Sanctuary team bids farewell to female whale off Molokaʻi
July 2026
Staff at NOAA's Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (HIHWNMS) were saddened to learn of the recent passing of a female humpback whale off the south shore of Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi in mid July. Since May, sanctuary staff worked alongside partners from the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, NOAA Fisheries, and the local community to try to encourage the whale and her calf out of an area locally known as a "blue hole," which is a natural break in the reef, often caused by fresh water springs.
Although there were no physical barriers that confined the whales to the "blue hole", the mother whale was unwilling to leave it over the relatively shallower surrounding reef. Because humpback whales do not generally feed while in Hawaiʻi, these whales should have departed for northern feeding grounds several months ago. Their prolonged stay meant the mother whale was not feeding and her energy reserves were eventually exhausted. Despite the collective efforts of many dedicated partners, she ultimately died. The fate of her calf remains unknown, but without its mother, the calf's survival is unlikely.
When this mother-calf pair was first discovered in the area, both appeared healthy. Local response teams conducted monitoring while rescuers made several attempts to encourage them out of the hole including using herding techniques, oikomi pipes, water pressure, social sounds outside the hole to encourage them to depart, predatory orca vocalizations and other aversive sounds inside the hole to encourage their departure. All response activities were conducted under NOAA's Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP) Permit no. 24359. Despite these extensive and coordinated efforts, none of the interventions were successful in encouraging the whales to leave the area.
For those who dedicated the past three months to monitoring and assisting this mother-calf pair, this loss has been especially difficult. Reflecting on the response effort, Ed Lyman, HIHWNMS response lead and a globally recognized whale expert, said "We spent hundreds of hours working to encourage them out of this situation. The local team that came together, along with experts from around the world who advised us, represent some of the very best in this field. It is always very difficult to lose any individual whale, but we hope the lessons we learned and the partnerships we have solidified through this effort will help improve responses and save other whales and marine mammals in the future."
If you see an injured or entangled whale or other marine mammal in distress, call the NOAA Marine Wildlife Hotline at (888) 256-9840 or hail the US Coast Guard on VHF Channel 16.