A wholphin (portmanteau of whale and dolphin) is an informal term used to refer to a number of rare cetacean hybrids. Wholphins have been born in captivity and have also been reported in the wild.

The name implies a hybrid of whale and dolphin, though taxonomically, both parents are in the oceanic dolphin family, which is in the toothed whale clade- some experts have discouraged the use of the term "Wholphin" for this reason.

Kekaimalu

The first wholphin in the United States and the first to survive was Kekaimalu, born at Sea Life Park in Hawaii on May 15, 1985; her name means "from the peaceful ocean".

Kekaimalu proved fertile when she gave birth at a very young age. John Blanchard, a trainer at Sea Life Park, has said about Kekaimalu: <blockquote>“The wholphin was darker than the other dolphins, and her nose looked like it was chopped off… [she] represented an unusual example of hybridization between two species of dolphin with markedly different sizes and appearances.”</blockquote>

In 1991, Kekaimalu gave birth, to her daughter, Pohaikealoha, with an unknown, male dolphin. For two years, she cared for the calf, but did not nurse it; it was hand-reared by trainers. Pohaikealoha died at age 9. On December 23, 2004, Kekaimalu had her third calf, daughter Kawili Kai, sired by a male bottlenose. The calf was nursed and was very playful. Only months after birth, it was the size of a one-year-old bottlenose dolphin. All three calves were three-quarters bottlenose dolphin and one-quarter false killer whale. Kekaimalu died on July 8, 2024 at the age of 39. Kawili Kai remains in captivity in Sea Life Park.

Family tree

Other hybrids referred to as "wholphins"

In August 2017 a hybrid between a rough toothed dolphin and a melon-headed whale was observed off the coast of the island of Kaua'i. This was the first time such a hybrid had been recorded.

Capabilities and behaviour

Wholphin behavior represents both parent species. They are intelligent, highly social, and can be trained to do complex tasks; shared traits of false killer whales and bottlenose dolphins alike. Captive wholphins have been observed to be playful and show a great deal of curiosity about their surroundings, the same as bottlenose dolphins. Despite being recorded in the wild, only a few confirmed sightings of wholphins have been seen in nature. Although natural sightings are improbable due to the differences in habitat preference and social structure between the parent species, this is not impossible.

Exterior and physical description

Wholphins also have mixed traits from their parents. They are mostly smaller in size compared to false killer whales, but larger than bottlenose dolphins. Their coloring is mostly a dark grey, with their body proportion and dental features falling between the two species (i.e., wholphins have more teeth than bottlenose dolphins but fewer than false killer whales on average).

References

  • Waimanalo Hapa Girl Makes 10! at Internet Archive, by Keene Rees