The minke whale is a long-lived species, with a lifespan estimated at sixty years. Females become sexually mature at six to eight years and males at five to eight years. Evidence suggests calving can occur annually; given this life history, females are thought to be capable of rearing up to 40 calves each. Gestation lasts ten months, and birth occurs in winter at lower latitudes. Calves are thought to nurse three to six months. Minke whales sometimes aggregate for feeding in coastal and inshore areas of cold temperate to polar seas. Group sizes are generally small (singles, pairs, and trios), although several animals may aggregate on productive feeding grounds. Minkes do not fluke-up on a dive, but they do sometimes breach and perform other aerial behaviors. Minke whales may segregate into groups defined by age or gender. They prefer coastal and inshore waters to open ocean.

Minke whales use two forms of feeding: lunge feeding and bird-association feeding. Bird-association feeding involves foraging on fish concentrated below feeding birds.

Feeding mode: Lunging

In the northern hemisphere, the minke whale prefers fish but eats krill when fish are not abundant; in the Southern Ocean minke whales feed on krill almost exclusively. Small schooling fish such as capelin, sandlance, and herring, as well as euphausiids, are particularly important prey items.

Known prey include:

Fish: Mallotus villosus, Gadus morhua, Pollachius pollachius, Ammodytes sp., Melanogrammus aeglefinus, Pollachius virens, Boreogadus saida, Eleginus navaga glacialis

Invertebrates: Thysanoessa spp., Meganyctiphanes norvegica, Euphausia superba, copepods, pterapods

Harvest

Fisheries bycatch

Vessel strikes

Conservation status:

The minke whale is considered a species of “lower risk” by the IUCN, and in the U.S. the species is protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Population is approximately 125,000 in the northern hemisphere and 380,000 in the southern hemisphere. Minke whales have been heavily exploited, and this is now the species of whale most commonly taken by commercial and “scientific” whalers. It is still hunted by Norway in the North Atlantic and by Japan in the North Pacific, provoking international controversy. Despite this exploitation, the minke whale generally remains abundant in most areas of its range. Some are caught in fishing gear and suffer from vessel strikes and habitat disturbance.

For current information on the conservation status of this species, please consult the following websites:

• IUCN Species Redlist

• CITES webpage

• International Whaling Commission

• NMFS Stock Assessment Reports

Sounds: National Marine Mammal Laboratory

Museum Collections: Smithsonian Institution

Images: International Fund for Animal Welfare Charitable Trust

Arnold, P., H. Marsh, and G. Heinsohn. 1987. The occurrence of two forms of minke whales in east Australian waters with a description of external characters and skeleton of the diminutive or dwarf form. Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute 38:1-46.

Boyd, I.L., C. Lockyer, and H.D. Marsh. 1999. Reproduction in Marine Mammals. Pages 218-287 in Reynolds III, J.E. and S.A. Rommel, eds. Biology of Marine Mammals. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.

Gaskin, D. E. 1982. The ecology of whales and dolphins. Heinemann, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.