A Minke Whale Encounter
One drizzly morning during our long voyage to Australia, somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I heard some strange noise coming from the water. At first I thought it was only the waves. I looked at the open sea from the port side and it was relatively calm. I thought that thud and splash sound could not have come from the waves. I thought it was some dolphins. But dolphins are not that big to have created that loud splash in the water. I got intrigued by it so I decided to go out on the main deck even if it was raining to check out where the noise was coming from. I went to the starboard side, lo and behold, a MINKE WHALE was following us! We were steaming at around 18 knots and the spectacle of a whale keeping up with our speed is just awesome! I stood there and watched. It was jaw dropping. I managed to whisper “wow”. And then I froze…
Thirty minutes later it was still there! I thought this whale wanted to have its photo taken so I rushed back to my cabin and grabbed my camera. My cabin was four floors from the main deck but it felt like I was back only in four steps. As soon as I switched my camera on, I just clicked away…
Minke Whale, also known as piked whale, small, nimble whale that leaps clear of the water like a dolphin and shows curiosity by venturing close to ships. Plentiful in numbers, experts estimate there are currently about 500,000 minke whales worldwide.
Minke whales live in polar, temperate, and tropical oceans worldwide, although they prefer cooler seas to tropical regions. They are separated into three populations: one in the North Atlantic, a second in the North Pacific, and a third in the southern hemisphere. Most spend summers in polar waters feeding and winters in warmer waters, where they breed. Typically travelling alone or in pairs, minke whales enter bays, lagoons, and shallow coastal waters. They also congregate in larger groups to feed, particularly in spring or summer when food is plentiful.
An adult ranges in length from 7 to 10 m (23 to 33 ft) and weighs 5 to 10 tons. The body of a minke whale is slender and streamlined, with a bullet-like, pointed head and a backward-curving dorsal fin. The minke whale’s sleek, smooth-skinned body, slim flippers, and pointed flukes (tail lobes) produce its distinctive pikelike appearance.
Minke whales vary in color. Their backs can be black, brown, or dark gray, and their bellies may be white, pale gray, or pale brown. The upper side of their flippers may have a white band. These whales are fast swimmers, and they normally dive for 3 to 8 minutes, but they can stay underwater for as long as 20 minutes. Their blows, or exhaled spurts of water, are frequent and fairly low, reaching about 2 to 3 m (about 7 to 10 ft) high.
Minke whales belong to the group of whales that have no teeth, which are called baleen whales. Baleen whales swallow large mouthfuls of seawater and use their baleen—bony, sievelike plates hanging from the upper jaw—to strain out small organisms to eat. Minkes eat a variety of foods, including krill—small, shrimplike crustaceans—and various fish.
Females typically give birth to a single calf about 10 to 11 months after mating. Newborn calves weigh 350 to 450 kg (770 to 990 lb) and nurse for approximately six months, or until their baleen is sufficiently formed to enable them to feed themselves.
Commercial whalers began targeting minke whales in the 20th century after whalers had depleted populations of larger whales. The population of minke whales subsequently began to decline, and they were included among protected species in the 1986 international ban on commercial whaling. Even so, Inuits (native peoples of the arctic) have been allowed to take a limited number of minke whales each year for subsistence (life-sustaining) and cultural purposes. In 1993, without international permission, Norway began whaling again. Some Norwegian scientists claim that current populations of minke whales are large enough that limited whaling will not endanger them. In 1997 Norwegian whalers harvested about 500 minke whales. In addition to being hunted, these whales frequently become entangled in both coastal and offshore fishing nets. Water pollution and climate change present environmental threats to their survival as well.
Scientific classification: The minke whale is a member of the rorqual family, Balaenopteridae, in the order Cetacea, suborder Mysticeti. It is classified as Balaenoptera acutorstrata.
[...] groups to feed, particularly in spring or summer when food is plentiful. … Excerpt from: A MINKE WHALE ENCOUNTER « siomaiphoto Share and [...]
A MINKE WHALE ENCOUNTER « siomaiphoto | Breaking News 24/7 said this on December 29, 2009 at 1:00 PM |
Thank you for posting this awesome story and wonderful photos! What a spectacular experience!
You are welcome Deirdre. Thanks for dropping by:)
[...] the rest here: A MINKE WHALE ENCOUNTER « siomaiphoto VN:F [1.6.3_896]please wait…Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)VN:F [1.6.3_896]Rating: 0 (from 0 [...]
A MINKE WHALE ENCOUNTER « siomaiphoto | Simple Automated Mess said this on December 29, 2009 at 1:15 PM |
cute…
hello
great photos! thank you for posting those.
Absolutely wonderful photos! You can never go wrong with a photo if you have a whale in it and can only make it better by adding more…lol…. can you tell I love whales? Great post too! Very informative and it really draws the reader in to the life of these beautiful whales. Belugas are my favorite whale but I love all of them. My dream home would be to have the mountains in my back yard and the ocean in my front yard. I have enjoyed your blog and feel free to check mine out anytime you would like and just pull up one of my rockin’ chairs and sit back and enjoy the views……. Lila
Thank you for dropping by Lila. I did enjoy the views on your site:)
it must be a great experience to see whale live in front of your eyes. thanks for sharing.
These are beautiful photos!
My GOD whales are beautiful.
Beautiful is an understatement:) Thanks for dropping by.
Wow, you were very blessed to have been able to capture this on film! That is totally awesome! Good Job and thanks for sharing the information on the minke whale. Have a great day!
Mona
just cool
Beautiful shots and a great post, thanks!
Thanks for sharing. That must have been an unbelievable experience. Good photos…
It was actually like in a dream:) Thanks for dropping by.
These are some very spectacular photos…thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing these wonderful creatures with us. It is a rare gift.
what an amazing experience!
interesting read
What an awesome experience! Amazing & beautiful!
Beautiful, I can’t wait until I am making my trip across the pacific!
Oh this was so interesting! I saw an article about mink whales a few months ago and the trouble Asia was having with poachers. So essentially I was at a loss of information about the general population!
Thank you all for dropping by:)
WALASTIC NA EXPERIENCE!!!
sa misamis oriental, nagawa kong makipagswimming with the dolphins. hehe di po ako taong-dagat ha. hehehe.
wow! hindi ko pa nasubukan swimming with the dolphins fads. someday paglaki ko sana ma experience ko hehe:)
wow. what an amazing, awesome, and jealousy-inducing encounter. you are so lucky to see them, and even luckier to have documented the experience.
Just lucky to be in the right place at the right time Alex. Thanks for dropping by:)
Unadulterated words, some unadulterated words man. Thanx for making my day.