Balaenoptera acutorostrata
minke whale

Minke whales have a worldwide distribution, appearing in all oceans and some adjoining seas. Cooler regions seem to be preferred over tropical regions.

Although not considered "coastal", these baleen whales rarely venture farther than 169 km from land. They also commonly enter estuaries, bays, fjords, and lagoons. They are also know to move farther into polar ice fields than other rorqual species.

Minkes are the smallest of the finback whales, growing to a maximum of 10.2 meters long. Females are larger than males, occasionally growing to a maximum of 10,000 kg. Coloration is dark above with a white underbelly. The head is pointed and bulletlike, with a relatively small rostrum. Baleen plates number around 300, are yellowish in color, and occasionally assymetrical in pattern. There are between 50-70 ventral grooves. A broad white band trims the dorsal side of flippers. The tail extends into two long tips. The dorsal fin is high and curved back.

Minke whales travel either singly or in small groups (2-4), although they can be found in large aggregations in the hundreds where krill is abundant. They are thought to be curious, approaching ships and wharfs which is not typical of its family. They are also highly acrobatic, able to leap completely out of the water like a dolphin. Minkes are fast swimmers. Some populations are migratory--both southern and northern populations often spend winter in tropical waters, although these are actually at different times of year as a result of seasonal differences in their homelands.

A baleen whale, this species feeds primarily on krill and some small fish. There are regional differences in the diet. Minkes eat krill almost exclusively in the Antarctic, but they are more omnivorous in the northern hemisphere, taking as food squid and small vertebrates such as cod, herring, and sardines.

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Minke whales have been hunted by people for products such as meat, oil, and baleen since the Middle Ages. Regardless, it has never been of large commercial importance until other whale species were overhunted. Annual kill peaked in 1976 with 12,398 individuals, but now is down to < 1,000. These are taken primarily by indigenous peoples for food, or by scientists for research.

The global population is estimated at over 300,000 individuals, and there seems to be no cause for concern, since this species is not commonly hunted anymore. Many populations are on appendix 1 of CITES. Numbers have also been on the rise since the early 1900's because close competitors (other rorqual species) have been overhunted.

A second form of minke whale called the dwarf minke has been found off Australia/ New Zealand/ South Africa. There is debate as to whether this is a subspecies of B. acutorostrata or a different species altogether.