The saga of the Pygmy Whales my brother spotted of the coast of Kihei several weeks back continued and has seemingly come to a fatal end.

One of the whales in the pod of 5 was recently euthanized as it stranded on McGregor’s Beach. Bystanders pushed the whale back into the water, but it didn’t recover. After having been transported back to the NOAA whale sanctuary in Kihei, it was given a Hawaiian prayer ceremony and was put to death. A CAT scan confirmed that the whale had severe pneumonia and was basically just a very old male.

KITV4 one of the island TV Stations reported about this. Read the entire article on the Maui Pygmy Killer whales here.

What has really excited marine mammal scientists is that this Maui sighting has shed light on the otherwise elusive and unstudied Pygmy whales. What this incident showed is that the pod will stick with a distressed or diseased member, even to the point of venturing far from their comfort zone of deep open ocean waters.

In a way, it mimics human behavior. As family (and extended family when you marry your sweetheart) we will stay with an ailing member, often to the very last breath. That’s what these Pygmy whales did, up until the final moments when he beached himself at McGregors.

E hoʻomaha me ka maluhia (rest in peace) old Pygmy Killer Whale visitor. We’ll miss seeing you around.

Aloha,
Stephan

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