Minke Whale

The minke whale may be the smallest of the great whales, but in Antarctic waters it makes up for its size with character. Quick, curious and surprisingly bold, minkes are known for approaching Zodiacs and vessels to investigate, often surfacing within metres of expeditioners who least expected it. Found throughout the Southern Ocean from the Antarctic Peninsula to the remote Ross Sea, they're one of the most frequently encountered whales on any Antarctic voyage — and one of the most underrated.

Minke whales are slender and streamlined, dark grey to black on the back and lighter underneath, with a small, curved dorsal fin set well back along the body. Their most distinctive feature is a narrow, pointed rostrum that breaks the surface first when they come up to breathe — one of the easiest ways to identify a minke at close range. Antarctic minke whales lack the white flipper band seen on their Northern Hemisphere relatives. Like humpbacks, individuals can be identified by unique scarring and pigmentation on their dorsal fins, allowing researchers to track them across seasons.

Antarctic minke whales feed almost exclusively on krill, lunging into dense swarms and filtering prey through their baleen plates. They're diurnal feeders, active in both open water and coastal areas along the continental shelf, including the Ross Sea and Prydz Bay. Usually seen alone or in small groups, they're fast and agile — capable of bursts over 30 km/h — and rarely raise their tail fluke before diving, which makes them easy to miss until one surfaces silently alongside the Zodiac.

Little is known about minke whale breeding compared to larger species. Mating likely occurs in warmer waters during winter, peaking around August and September, with a roughly ten-month gestation. Calves are around two and a half metres at birth, nursed for five to ten months, and females typically calve every one to two years. Minkes reach maturity around age seven or eight and can live up to 50 years.