Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)

Minkes are the most common whale species around the British coast. They are a baleen whale, which means they have baleen instead of teeth like the dolphins.

Identification:

• Up to 33 feet (10.2m) in length, females are slightly larger than males
• Dark grey above and white below
• In the northern hemisphere minkes have a white band on each flipper
• Tall, curved dorsal fin, 2/3 of the way along its body

Feeding and Distribution:
Baleen whales mainly feed on krill and small fish. They lunge themselves into the patch of krill with their mouth open and scoop up as much as they can. They have large pleats in the skin on their lower jaw and this enables them to hold huge volunes of water. Then they squeeze out all the water out through the baleen plates and seive the krill and fish out so they get trapped in the baleen. Minkes are found in oceans throughout the world, but they seem to avoid the tropics and prefer colder water- in the Antarctic they've been known to get trapped in ice fields! The northern and southern hemisphere whales are two separate species.

Threats and Conservation:
Historically, minkes have not been hunted, as they were not seen as a worthwhile catch due to their small size. However as the larger species have been depleted in number through whaling, minkes are now hunted by Japan and Norway. It is thought that minke populations may have increased as the food that was previously eaten by the larger whale species has become available to them.