Minke whales
Noosa Oceanrider’s guest were treated to a rare sighting of a Minke whale last week breaching.
The minke whales which are a black/grey/purple colour, are the second smallest baleen whale after the pygmy right whale. They are between 6.9 m and 8 m in length and the males are smaller than the females.
The minke whale breathes three to five times at short intervals before ‘deep-diving’ for 2 to 20 minutes and they can swim at speeds up to 38 km/h.
Like the humpbacks they migrate from the poles to the tropics during fall and winter. They are playful creatures and you can swim with them further north on the Great Barrier Reef.