Mammals · Artiodactyla · Balaenopteridae

Minke Whale

Balaenoptera acutorostrata

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

It is the smallest of the rorquals, or great whales, and unlike the southern right whale it breeds every year rather than on a cycle of several.

Weight

up to 5 t

Size

6.9 m – 8 m

Lifespan

50 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Irregular activity

Active at irregular times, by day or night depending on circumstances.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

OceanCarnivore Variable activity Solitary Ocean Mammal

26countries 62parks 28dive sites5same family

Fun facts

Its annual calving rate is over 90%.
It feeds on krill and small shoaling fish through its baleen plates.
It lives in every ocean in the world, from polar to tropical waters.
historia naturalIt is the smallest and most abundant rorqual, and its English name comes, by a Norwegian whaling anecdote, from the surname of a lookout who mistook one for a far larger blue whale.
genéticaIt carries specific mutations in the genes for tooth formation, so its teeth never develop into working ones, a trait shared by all baleen whales.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Every ocean in the world, from polar to tropical waters; the smallest of the rorquals
Birth weight: ~320-450 kg and 2.4-3.5 m long at birth
Size at birth: ~320-450 kg and 2.4-3.5 m at birth
Sexual maturity: 7.5 years
Gestation / incubation: 10 months (~10-11 months)
Litter / clutch size: 1 young per birth (yearly, with birth rates above 90%)

Sources consulted: Animalspot.net; A-Z Animals; PMC (fetal growth energetic cost study, comparative reference); Whale Facts; Animal Corner (Whale Reproduction)