Hawaiian spinner dolphin

Photo: Craig Fujii · CC BY-NC-ND

The Hawaiian spinner dolphin is a coastal subspecies that uses sheltered bays and lava tube entrances as daytime resting habitat, travelling offshore at night to feed on mesopelagic fish and squid in the deep scattering layer. Their iconic spinning leaps are thought to serve social and communication functions within tight pods that can number in the dozens. Federal protections under the Marine Mammal Protection Act require divers to maintain distance, but encounters inside Sheraton Caverns are passive — dolphins approach on their own terms.