About Whales

Whale Conservation

Whale Conservation is still and issue despite a 20 year ban on whaling. Whales are facing ever increasing dangers from human activities. Over 1200 whales are being hunted each year and this number is increasing. Norway continues to defy the IWC moratorium against commercial whaling. Japan also continues to be whaling under a guise of 'scientific research', killing hundreds of Minke, Sperm and Bryde's whales each year and then selling whale meat on the market openly. Japan is planning on increasing their 'scientific research' to include the already endangered Humpback Whale and Fin Whale.

True blue whales are endangered. The subspecies has not recovered significantly since protection, with less than 1000 animals estimated to exist in the southern hemisphere. This compares with the pre-whaling population, which is estimated to have been greater than 150,000. There are an estimated 6000 whales of the pygmy blue subspecies.

Iceland is also now whaling for 'scientific research' under defiance of the IWC moratorium against commercial whaling.

Whale News

Recent Whale News articles include:

• More Humpback Whales than ever before are migrating up Australia’s East Coast. This year will see our biggest whale migration in years. The Humpback Whales numbers are increasing at around 10 percent a year. If the growth rate continues like this the Humpback Whale numbers will slowly get back up to what we had migrating up and down the East coast of Australia pre whaling days.
• Whales are worth more to us alive than dead. Over 13 Million people in the US last year went and saw the beloved creatures, creating over 13,000 jobs.

Blue Whales

Blue Whales are not just the largest animal on earth but they are the largest whales on in the ocean. The Blue Whale is endangered after being heavily exploited for their, oil, meat and baleen during the 1900’s. Blue Whales average life span is around 80 to 90 years. A Blue Whale is around 30 meters long (that is the length of 6 great White Sharks) and can weigh over 200 tons. Underwater the blue whale looks blue but above the water they are actually blue-grey. An average Blue Whale can eat up to 4.5 tons a day of Krill.

Blue Whales usually swim alone but can sometimes be found in pairs. They swim at around 8 kilometres per hour, but can get up to around to 32 kilometres per hour.

The Blue Whale can be found in all of the world’s oceans. In the summer they can be found in the Polar Regions and in the winter they can be found in the tropical regions for breading and feeding.

It is known to be the loudest animal in the world. It is even louder than a jet plane. Their moans can be heard up to 100 miles away.

Southern Right Whales

The Great Australian Bight Whale Sanctuary, South Australia has a long connection with Southern Right Whales. Whales belong to a group of marine mammals called cetaceans, including all whales, dolphins and porpoises. Southern Right Whales were named by early whalers, as they were so slow which made them very easy to catch. They also floated once caught, therefore, were the “Right” whales to hunt.

Southern Right Whales generally have a large rounded body. They are black and have white belly patches. They have no dorsal fin and short wide flippers.

The Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis) is apart of baleen whale family. Like other Right Whales, the Southern Right Whale is quickly distinguished from others by the callosities on its head. It is almost indistinguishable from the closely related North Pacific Right Whales and North Atlantic Right Whales, displaying only minor skull differences. It has fewer callosities on its head and more on its lower lips than the two northern species. Callosities are roughened, wart-like patches of skin that are grey in colour and exhibit on the whales head, eyes and jaw.

They are around the same length as the Humpback Whale but weigh up to twice as much at around 80 tonnes.

Minke Whales

Minke Whales are classified into two common species:

• Common Minke Whale also known as the Northern Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), and
• the Antarctic Minke Whale, which is also commonly know as the Southern Minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis)

The Minke Whale is the smallest of the Baleen Whale family with only 50-70 throat grooves. It is a rorqual whale. Minke whales have a distinctive white band on each flipper, contrasting with its very dark gray top colour. They have 2 blowholes, like all baleen whales.

Minke whales like all baleen whales are seasonal feeders and carnivores.

Minke whales are known travel alone but can also sometimes be found in small pods of about 2-3 whales. Minke whales normally swim 4.8-25 kilometres per hour, but can go up to 29-34 kilometres per hour in bursts when in danger. Some Minkes migrate long distances, but others may move only within a restricted area.

Minke whales makes very loud sounds, up to 152 decibels (as loud as a jet taking off). They make series of grunts, thuds, and raspy sounds, usually in the 100-200 Hertz range. These sounds may be used in communication with other minke whales and in echolocation.

Minkes are found in all oceans. They seem to prefer icy polar waters, and are found right up to the edge of the icepack in polar regions. They have a life span of around 50 years.