WorldWideWhale.com
A Web site dedicated to Cetaceans, the whales and dolphins of this blue planet,
and the people who fight to save them.
and the people who fight to save them.
Minke Whales
Minke whales are the smallest of the rorqual whales. There are 500,000 to 1 million minke whales distributed throughout the world, with populations in the Southern Hemisphere, and the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans.
Some groups of Minke living in the Antarctic in the summer will migrate north in the winter. For reasons unknown, a few however will remain under the ice packs throughout the winter. Whaling is still practiced in this area by the Japanese. All whaling groups stopped hunting in this region in the 60s, with the exception of the USSR who stopped in 1987.
While normally difficult to approach, Minke whales are noted for their ship-seeking behavior. They may suddenly appear next to a vessel without warning. They have been known to swim next to a boat for long distances.