From a distance, minke whales might also be mistaken for 

 northern bottlenosed whales (or any of several other beaked 

 whales with a similar dorsal fin). They can be distinguished 

 by the differences in head shape, body color and markings, 

 and behavior, detailed on p. 67. 



Distribution 



Minke whales are distributed in the polar, temperate, and 

 tropical waters of the western North Atlantic. They are 

 found from the pack ice south to at least Anguilla, Lesser 

 Antilles, and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, though they appear 

 to be most abundant in temperate waters north of the lati- 

 tude of New York and are infrequently reported from tropi- 

 cal waters. At least some of the population migrates to the 

 northern portions of their range in spring and back south in 

 autumn. They often approach close to shore and enter river 

 mouths, inlets, and estuaries. 



Minke whales arrive along the Canadian coast in May or 

 June. Some migrate as far north as Hudson Strait, where 

 they remain until the freeze in October, November, or 

 December. By December the majority of the population has 



begun to move to the south, although some animals remain 

 behind so long as to become entrapped in the ice and die. 

 Spring and summer concentrations along the Canadian coast 

 correspond to concentrations of capelin, cod, and herring. 

 Southern concentrations, also corresponding with concentra- 

 tions of herring, extend farther offshore at least to the edges 

 of the Grand Bank. Minke whales also summer off the south 

 coast of western Greenland, which they probably reach from 

 waters southwest of Iceland. Minke whales also occur in 

 deep pelagic waters. 



Stranded Specimens 



Stranded minke whales can be most readily identified by: 

 1) their small size (to just over 30 feet [9.1 m]); 2) the 

 transverse white bands on the flippers; 3) the yellowish- 

 white baleen plates (up to half the posteriormost plates may 

 be brown or black), 300-325 per side in number and having 

 fine white bristles (the plates are up to 4.75 inches [12 cm) 

 wide at the base and up to 8 inches [20.3 cm] long); and 4) by 

 the 50-70 thin ventral grooves, ending well before the navel, 

 often just even with the flippers. 



Figure 64. — Minke whales are also known as sharp-headed tinners. On this animal from the North Pacific, 

 note the sharply pointed head and the single central head ridge. (Photo by Japanese Whales Research 

 Institute, courtesy of H. Omura. ) 



65 



