Difference between revisions of "Minke whale"

← Older edit

Minke whale (view source)

Revision as of 16:14, 2 March 2024

77 bytes added , 2 March

no edit summary

Westarctica

Bureaucrats, Administrators

9,750

edits

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 ===Size===
 [[File:Minke whale in ross sea.jpg|400px|thumb|Minke whale in the Ross Sea]]
-The Antarctic minke is among the smallest of the baleen whales, with only the common minke and the pygmy right whale being smaller. The longest caught off Brazil were an 11.9 meters (39.0 feet) female taken in 1969 and an 11.27 meters (37.0 feet) male taken in 1975, the former four feet longer than the second longest females and the latter five feet longer than the second longest males. Off South Africa, the longest measured were a 10.66 meters (35.0 feet) female and a 9.75 meters (32.0 feet) male. The heaviest caught in the Antarctic were a 9 meters (29.5 feet) female that weighed 10.4 metric tons (11.5 short tons) and an 8.4 meters (27.6 feet) male that weighed 8.8 metric tons (9.7 short tons).
+The Antarctic minke is among the smallest of the baleen whales, with only the common minke and the pygmy right whale being smaller. The longest caught off [[Brazilian Antarctica|Brazil]] were an 11.9 meters (39.0 feet) female taken in 1969 and an 11.27 meters (37.0 feet) male taken in 1975, the former four feet longer than the second longest females and the latter five feet longer than the second longest males. Off South Africa, the longest measured were a 10.66 meters (35.0 feet) female and a 9.75 meters (32.0 feet) male. The heaviest caught in the Antarctic were a 9 meters (29.5 feet) female that weighed 10.4 metric tons (11.5 short tons) and an 8.4 meters (27.6 feet) male that weighed 8.8 metric tons (9.7 short tons).
 At physical maturity, females average 8.9 meters (29.2 feet) and males 8.6 meters (28.2 feet). At sexual maturity, females average 8.1 meters (26.6 feet) and males 7.6 meters (24.9 feet). Calves are estimated to be 2.73 meters (8.96 feet) at birth.
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 ===Migration and movements===
-Two Antarctic minke whales marked with "Discovery tags" – 26 cm (10 in) stainless steel tubes with an inscription and number engraved on them – in the [[Southern Ocean]] during the austral summer (January) were recovered a few years later off northeastern Brazil (6° – 7°S, 34°W) during the austral winter (July and September, respectively). The first was marked off Queen Maud Land (69°S 19°E) and the second southeast of the South Orkney Islands (62°S 35°W). Over twenty individuals marked with these Discovery tags showed large-scale movements around the Antarctic continent, each moving more than 30 degrees of longitude – two, in fact, had moved over 100 degrees of longitude. The first was marked off the [[Adélie Coast]] (66°S 141°E) and recovered the following season off the Princess Ragnhild Coast (68°S 26°E), a minimum of 114 degrees of longitude. The second was marked north of Cape Adare (68°S 172°E) and recovered nearly six years later northwest of the Riiser-Larsen Peninsula (68°S 32°E), a minimum of over 139 degrees of longitude. Both were marked and recovered in January.
+Two Antarctic minke whales marked with "Discovery tags" – 26 cm (10 in) stainless steel tubes with an inscription and number engraved on them – in the [[Southern Ocean]] during the austral summer (January) were recovered a few years later off northeastern [[Brazilian Antarctica|Brazil]] (6° – 7°S, 34°W) during the austral winter (July and September, respectively). The first was marked off Queen Maud Land (69°S 19°E) and the second southeast of the South Orkney Islands (62°S 35°W). Over twenty individuals marked with these Discovery tags showed large-scale movements around the Antarctic continent, each moving more than 30 degrees of longitude – two, in fact, had moved over 100 degrees of longitude. The first was marked off the Adélie Coast (66°S 141°E) and recovered the following season off the Princess Ragnhild Coast (68°S 26°E), a minimum of 114 degrees of longitude. The second was marked north of Cape Adare (68°S 172°E) and recovered nearly six years later northwest of the Riiser-Larsen Peninsula (68°S 32°E), a minimum of over 139 degrees of longitude. Both were marked and recovered in January.
 On 20 January 1972, a 49.5 cm (19.5 in) broken-off bill of a marlin was found embedded in the rostrum of a minke whale caught in the Southern Ocean at 64°06′S 87°14′E, providing indirect evidence of migration to the warmer tropical or subtropical waters of the Indian Ocean.
@@ Line 46: / Line 46: @@
 Antarctic minke whales are the main prey item of Type A [[Orca|killer whales]] in the Southern Ocean. Their remains have been found in the stomachs of killer whales caught by the Soviets, while individuals caught by the Japanese exhibited damaged flippers with tooth rake scars and parallel scarring on the body suggestive of killer whale attacks. Large groups of killer whales have also been observed chasing, attacking, and even killing Antarctic minke whales. Most attacks involve Type A killer whales, but on one occasion, in January 2009, a group of ten Type B or pack ice killer whales, which normally preyed on Weddell seals in the area by wave-washing them off ice floes, were observed to attack, kill, and feed on a juvenile Antarctic minke whale in Laubeuf Fjord, between Adelaide Island and the [[Antarctic Peninsula]].
+[[Category:Featured Articles]]
 [[Category:Whales]]
 [[Category:Animals of Westarctica]]