Mammals of North Carolina:
their Distribution and Abundance
Common Minke Whale - Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Balaenopteridae Members: 		Search Common:                 Search Scientific:
Distribution Distribution in NC not well known, but seen essentially only well offshore (away from sight of land). Only two known stranding records, both from the same county (Dare).

Occurs in both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans.
Abundance Generally rare, well off the NC coast. Poorly known for much or most of the 20th Century in the Southeastern states, and the first record for the state was not until 4 April 1978 (sight records at sea). Since then, two strandings have been reported through 1995 (Webster et al., 1995), both in May. There are a few sightings off the coast since 1995, but it still remains a poorly known species in NC waters. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History mammal collections (2021) lists just these two stranding records for NC.
Seasonal Occurrence Apparently mainly in the cooler months. Seasonal migrations seem to be poorly known, but NC might be somewhat near the southern part of the normal range of the species. Nonetheless, it moves north near the coast in spring and southward off the coast in fall, perhaps even wintering off the NC coast. Both of the known strandings (two) were in May.
Habitat Generally in cooler water, but specifics are not well known.
Behavior This species is much smaller than the other Balaenoptera species in the state. not surprisingly, it can occur in larger pods than others, sometimes up to 30 individuals. Also, perhaps because of its small size, it can be approached more closely in boats than can other baleen whales.
Comments Unlike a number of other Balaenoptera whales, this "small" species is not on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species list. The taxonomy of the 'Minke Whale' complex is a bit unsettled. Originally it was considered a single species occurring in both the Northern and the Southern hemispheres. However, most references now identify two species -- Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and the Antarctic Minke Whale (B. bonaerensis).
Origin Native
NC List Official
State Rank S1?M
State Status
Global Rank G5
Federal Status
subspecies
other_comName Minke Whale, Northern Minke Whale
synonym
NC Map
Map depicts all counties with a report (transient or resident) for the species.		Click on county for list of all database records for species in that county.