Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
Minke Whale, St Kilda, Scotland, August 2003 - click for larger image St Kilda, Scotland
August 2003

There are two species of Minke Whale and this is also known as the Northern Minke Whale since it is found from the pole to the equator in the Atlantic and the Pacific. The Southern Minke Whale Balaenoptera bonaerensis is found in the southern hemisphere.

Minke Whale, St Kilda, Scotland, August 2003 - click for larger image It belongs to the same genus as the Blue Whale B. musculus although it is much smaller at 9 metres and weighing 9 tons than the Blue Whale at up to 27 metres and 150 tons.

Like all members of the Rorqual group of whales it is a filter feeder and it feeds mainly on small schooling fish such as herring, mackerel and sardines.

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