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May 7, 2020 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

So Long, Snowbirds

Well, they are each not exactly snowbirds, but our winter residents are returning to their second homes.

The Kōlea, Pacific Golden Plover, is a migratory bird that comes to Hawai‘i from Siberia and Alaska at the end of August and leaves for its trip across the north Pacific in late-April to early-May.

The bird’s Hawaiian name, Kōlea, is a phonetic imitation of the sound of its flight call. One olelo no‘eau (Hawaiian proverb) states ‘Ai no ke kolea a momona hoi i Kahiki!’ (The Kōlea eats until he is fat, and then returns to the land from which he came.)

Unlike many birds capable of trans-oceanic migrations, Kōlea can neither soar nor glide; and, they can’t swim.

When Kōlea fly between Hawai‘i and Alaska, they will continuously beat their wings twice per second for about fifty hours over some 2,500 miles of open ocean—one of the most grueling non-stop migrations in the avian world.

Kōlea spend each summer on the treeless tundra of western Alaska and Siberia; there, they’ll breed and incubate a clutch of eggs—Kōlea chicks are left largely on their own once they’re born.

Chicks can fly at three weeks, though not yet as far as Hawaii; when adult Kōlea lift off for the Islands in late August, they leave the young behind to follow some weeks later.

Scientists aren’t certain how the chicks find Hawai‘i. By October the juveniles arrive on our shores.

Kōlea return to and vigorously defend the same spot in their summer and winter grounds, an extreme example of what ornithologists call “site faithfulness.”

During late winter and spring, the Kōlea eat voraciously, nearly doubling their body weight to make the demanding flight north.

Another seasonal visitor is the Koholā, the Humpback Whale (part of the North Pacific stock – whales in the North Pacific also winter in western Mexico and southern Japan.)

From mid-December through mid-May the Koholā make their home in the waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands.

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary was created by Congress in 1992 to protect humpback whales and their habitat in Hawai‘i.

The sanctuary, which lies within the shallow (less than 600 feet), warm waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands, constitutes one of the world’s most important humpback whale habitats.

While they were here, the humpback whales were involved in courtship rituals, mating, calving and nursing their young (gestation lasts about 11 months.)

Both male and female humpback whales vocalize, however only males produce the long, loud, complex “songs” for which the species is famous.

In the Pacific, humpbacks migrate seasonally from Alaska to Hawaii – they can complete the 3,000-mile trip in as few as 36 days.

Humpbacks continuously travel at approximately three to seven miles per hour with very few stops; they typically stay near the surface during migration.

The humpbacks don’t eat during their stay in the Hawaiian Islands. Hawai‘i doesn’t offer their food, krill and herring; they carry their summer food supply in their fat.

During the summer months, humpbacks spend the majority of their time feeding and building up fat stores (blubber) that they will live off of during the winter. Humpback feeding grounds are in cold, productive coastal waters.

Soon, the last of the Kōlea and Koholā will be gone; to return, again, in the fall.

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So Long, Snowbirds

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Hawaii, Kohola, Kolea

March 7, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary

In the Kumulipo chant – the Hawaiian creation chant – the Second Era speaks of the birth of the whale: “Hanau ka palaoa noho I kai” – born is the whale living in the ocean. The Koholā (humpback whale) was well known to the early Hawaiians. (Maxwell)

The presence of the koholā in Hawaiian waters is evidenced in Hawai‘i’s oral and written history through petroglyphs, legends, legendary place names and artifacts.

Kapoukahi, a powerful kahuna from Kaua‘i, prophesized that war would end if Kamehameha I constructed a heiau dedicated to the war god Ku at Pu‘ukoholā.

In 1791, Keoua, Kamehameha’s cousin, was slain at Pu‘ukoholā, an event that according to prophesy, led to the conquest and consolidation of the islands under the rule of Kamehameha I.

The warm waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands are breeding, calving and nursing areas for humpback whales and is one of the world’s most important habitats for them.

At the start of the 20th century, the global population of humpbacks was depleted by the commercial whaling industry.

In 1973, the United States government made it illegal to hunt, harm or disturb humpback whales. When the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, the humpback whale was listed as endangered.

Protection of this important ecological habitat was necessary for the long-term recovery of the North Pacific humpback whale population.

In 1993 it was estimated that there were 6,000 whales in the North Pacific Ocean, and that 4,000 of those came to Hawaiʻi.

Most of the North Pacific stock of humpback whales winter in three nearshore lower latitude mating and calving areas: Hawai‘i, western Mexico and the islands of southern Japan.

During the spring and summer they migrate as far as 3,000 miles. The Hawaii population breeds in the main Hawaiian Islands and feeds in most of the known feeding grounds in the North Pacific, particularly Southeast Alaska and northern British Columbia.

Humpbacks continuously travel at approximately three to seven miles per hour with very few stops. The main Hawaiian Islands may contain the largest seasonal population of North Pacific humpbacks in the world. (NOAA)

Through an international ban on commercial whaling and protections under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the North Pacific humpback whale population now numbers more than 21,000.

Whales in Hawaii were delisted and are now noted as ‘Not at Risk’. (NPR) The whales will continue to be protected under other federal laws, including the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The population of humpback whales that uses Hawaiʻi’s waters as their principal wintering ground is likely more than 10,000 animals. (NOAA)

Congress enacted the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, recognizing the important role that the Hawaiian Islands play in the preservation and long-term vitality of the humpback whale.

The Sanctuary is jointly managed in an equal partnership in the oversight of sanctuary operations by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the State of Hawai‘i.

The cooperative agreement, signed in 1998, states that NOAA and the State of Hawai’i “shall manage the sanctuary through a cooperative partnership and consult on all management activities throughout the sanctuary.”

The State duties in the agreement are the responsibility of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR;) we had a great working relationship with NOAA.

NOAA and the State of Hawai’i determined that co-managing a sanctuary would provide additional beneficial resources and expertise to enhance the protection of humpback whales and their habitat, rather than do things on our own.

The sanctuary conducts and supports humpback whale research to increase scientific knowledge about the North Pacific humpback whale population and its habitat. Research efforts include photo identification, population, birth and mortality rates and whale behavior.

Like our fingerprints, whale flukes (tail fins) are unique with distinctive patches and markings for each whale. Researchers use the irregularities and differences of a whale’s fluke to distinguish between individual whales.

A Sanctuary advisory council assists the Sanctuary staff by providing advice and recommendations to the Sanctuary personnel.

In the summer, humpbacks are found in high latitude feeding grounds in Gulf of Alaska in the Pacific where they spend the majority of the time feeding and building up blubber that they live off of in the winter.

From December to late-May, the humpback whales migrate to calving grounds in Hawaiian waters. This time of year is one of the best viewing periods.

In 2016 the humpback whales were delisted and noted as ‘Recovered;’ the moratorium on whaling remains in effect.

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Humpback_Whale-Maui-(Stan_Butler-NOAA)-WC
Humpback_Whale-Maui-(Stan_Butler-NOAA)-WC
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Whales from McGregor Point-(cphamrah)
Whales from McGregor Point-(cphamrah)
Humpback Whale-Hopkins
Humpback Whale-Hopkins
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whales
Humpback Whale Fluke
Humpback Whale Fluke
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hawaii-humpback-logo
Hawaiian-Islands-Humpback-Whale-National-Marine-Sanctuary-Map

Filed Under: General Tagged With: NOAA, Hawaii, DLNR, Kohola, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary

October 29, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Palaoa

O kane ia Waiʻoloi, O ka wahine ia Waiʻololā
Hanau ka Palaoa noho i kai
Kiaʻi ia e ka ʻAoa noho i uka

Male the narrow waters, female for the broad waters
Born is the Palaoa (whale) living in the ocean
Guarded by the ʻAoa (sandlewood) that grew in the forest

O ke kaʻina a palaoa e kaʻi nei
E kuwili O haʻahaʻa i ka moana

The procession of whales leading forward
To spin to the depths of the sea.
(Kumulipo)

The Hawaiian Chant of Creation, known as the Kumulipo, is a genealogical creation chant composed in Hawaii for the chief, Ka-’I-i-mamao, about the eighteenth century, comprising more than 2,000 lines.

It contains 2,000 names representing 812 generations the sum of linear time in that history is about 22,300 years, or roughly one precession of the equinoxes dating back to around 21,000 BC. (Rubellite Kawena Kinney Johnson)

The koholā or whale was formerly called the palaoa. (Malo) “The whale is the largest ocean creature and a majestic manifestation of Kanaloa.

From the ivory of this creature. The highly prized ‘Palaoa’ or whale-tooth pendant is carved. This palaoa was only worn by ali‘i of highest rank.” (Kanahele)

The scarcity of the palaoa and its connection to Kanaloa brought mana to the carver, to the pendant itself and eventually to the wearer of the pendant.

The aliʻi who possessed this kinolau or body form of the great God would himself/herself acquire the characteristics, intelligence and knowledge of the God. Therefore it would be advantageous for any aliʻi to secure the ivory whale-tooth of this Kanaloa body form. (KIRC)

In the ocean, outside lay a belt called kai-kohola, where swim the whales, monsters of the sea; beyond this lay the deep ocean, moana.

If any large fish – such as a whale – or a log strapped with iron, should be cast ashore, it was to be offered to the gods, (ie, it was to be given to the priests for the use of the king). The whale was not taken by Hawaiian fishermen. (Malo)

The whale species hunted in the 19th century were primarily the North Pacific right, the humpback, the fin and the gray whale; they also caught blue and sperm whale. The right and humpback are baleen species; rather than teeth, baleen plates filter food from water.

Whaling was an integral part of the development of many countries in the early nineteenth century. Whale blubber produced oil that lit the lamps and greased the machines of many of the most “modern” inventions of the time. It was said that whale oil was the illumination and lubrication of the Industrial Revolution. (Bishop Museum)

As the traditional hunting grounds of the Atlantic began to be fished out, whalers turned to the plentiful waters of the Pacific. Some of the most bountiful harvesting grounds were found off the coast of Japan.

Japan’s ports however, were closed to foreign vessels; Hawai‘i became a perfect destination for these whaling fleets needing a place to dock, replenish supplies, repair the ships and rest the crews,.

Whalers began arriving in Hawai‘i in 1819, and by 1822 over sixty ships were docking annually. Honolulu, Lāhainā and Kōloa were the primary anchorage areas for the whalers. By 1846, the number of whaling ships arriving in Hawai‘i had reached 596-ships.

The sailors, and their ships needed supplies, food, tools, liquor and many more commodities that often newly arrived “businessmen” were ready to supply. Hawai‘i became a “gold rush” town that attracted people of all types.

Some of the most influential businesses in modern Hawaiian history got their start from the capitalist opportunities of this period. Hawai‘i also saw the loss of young Hawaiian men who traveled aboard these ships to the northwest coast of America and other destinations. (Bishop Museum)

The whale at Bishop Museum, unlike those that were caught for their oil, is actually a sperm whale. It was the first specimen installed in Hawaiian Hall in December of 1901 and has hung there ever since. It is over 55 feet long and weighs over two tons. (Bishop Museum)

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WLA_haa_Lei_Niho_Palaoa_Neck_Ornament-Carved sperm whale tooth, braided human hair, olona cordage
WLA_haa_Lei_Niho_Palaoa_Neck_Ornament-Carved sperm whale tooth, braided human hair, olona cordage

Filed Under: Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance, Hawaiian Traditions Tagged With: Hawaii, Kohola, Whale, Palaoa, Kumulipo

Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

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