Minke Whales

Spotting Minke Whales

The minke whale is the smallest and most abundant of the rorquals – baleen whales with fibrous hair-like baleen plates instead of teeth and pleated throats used for gulp feeding. They are much smaller than other whales found in British waters, averaging in length between 7-10 metres, with females growing slightly larger than the males. They have a narrow, pointed triangular head with a central ridge. The dorsal fin is relatively tall, sickle-shaped, and situated nearly two-thirds of the way along the back which can be seen at the same time as their 2-3 metre high blow. The head and body are dark grey to black but with lighter grey on the flanks, and distinctive white “armbands” on the pectoral fins. In recent years we have seen a notable increase of sightings of minke whales in the waters near Padstow, with the peak time for seeing them around April and early May, although they can be seen throughout the year.

Behaviour

Minke whales are frequently found as solitary animals, or occasionally in groups of two or three, although they may congregate in larger numbers in areas where food is abundant. Although minke whales can be shy to approach, some individuals are inquisitive and may investigate boats. They sometimes spyhop and breach; lifting the front end of their body high out of the water before splashing down. Minkes will gulp feed on a variety of fish species by opening their mouths wide and expanding their pleated throats to engulf large volumes of water which gets sieved out through their baleen to leave the fish to be swallowed whole. Fish, such as herring, cod, sandeel, haddock, and whiting are all part of the minke whale diet, along with plankton if it is present in the water.