Whales

Minke Whale - Balaenoptera bonaerensis

As with other Minke Whales, the Southern Minke Whale is the second smallest of all the baleen whales, with only the Pygmy Right Whale being smaller. The Southern Minke Whale usually weighs between 4 and 5 tons at sexual maturity and up to about 14 tons at full maturity. Males reach a length of about 6.9m at sexual maturity, which increases to a maximum of about 10m. The slightly larger females measure up to 7.4m at sexual maturity, and grows to about 9.5m.

The Southern Minke Whale has a dark grey / charcoal-coloured back with a white underside. From each side of the body, a double lighter grey line rises from the belly, and the dark flippers are edged with white. The Southern Minke Whale is slightly larger than its Northern counterpart. When this Southern Minke Whale surfaces, viewers are generally able to see the entire length of the back at the same time, including the dorsal fin and both blowholes. Once the whale has taken about 5 quick breaths, it will drop into the salty blue for up to 20 minutes before re-surfacing. Before taking one of these particularly deep and long-lasting dives, the whale will arch its back dramatically. The Southern Minke Whale will reach a seed of up to about 25km per hour when swimming at full speed.

As its name would imply, the Southern Minke Whale inhabits the oceans of the Southern hemisphere. During summer, it sticks closely to the Antarctic waters. Winter sends these beasts further north. There are about half a million Minke whales in the Southern hemisphere (although this number is constantly being disputed by the different environmental and wildlife organisations involved). The Southern Minke Whale is listed as being Lower Risk/Conservation Dependent by the IUCN.

The gestation period of the Southern Minke Whale lasts for 10 months, and mothers nurse their caves for the first 5 months of their lives. New born whales measure approximately 2.6m, and reach sexual maturity at about 7 years of age. Southern Minke Whales live for between 30 and 50 years, on average.

As with most other whale species, the Southern Minke Whale has also been a victim of greedy hunters. Minke Whales are generally quite desirable objects of prey as they have a rich supply of blubber, and can be used for meat, bone and oil. By the 11th century, harpooning Minkes was common practice. By the 1930’s, many countries, including Brazil, Greenland, China, Korea, South Africa, Norway, and Canada, were actively hunting Minke Whales. A moratorium in 1986 brought some relief, and is gradually allowing these animals to recover. Japan and Iceland continue to undertake hunting, supposedly on the grounds of scientific research. These activities are, however, questionable and are under constant scrutiny by wildlife organisations.

Avid whale watchers are sure to spot some of the magnificent Minkes while cruising in the Isle of Mull in Scotland, County Cork in Ireland and Húsavík in Iceland. Because this particular whale species is so interested in their surrounds, they tend to approach the vessels in their waters in order to get a better look, providing ample opportunity to spot them close-up. They get so close to the boats, in fact, that tourists often complain about their smelly breaths, earning them the name “Stinky Minkes”.