Credit River Sea Creatures Series
This cache is part of a new series of caches placed on the edges of the Credit River. You can wade the river, float down on a tube or perhaps even swim in places. However you chose to access these caches, always be safe. And always have fun!
Petit Rorqual - Common Minke Whale - Tikaagullik
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
The minke whale is the smallest of the rorqual whales. Females reach an average length of 8.5m and males grow to about 8m. Like other baleen whales, those found in the northern hemisphere tend to be smaller than those from the southern hemisphere. Minke whales weigh between five to 10 tonnes.
They are black, brown, or dark grey on their backs and lighter on the belly and underside of their flippers. The most conspicuous feature is a diagonal band of white on the upper surface of each flipper.
Like fin whales, minke whales sometimes have a light chevron on the back, behind the head and two regions of light grey on each side - one just above and behind the flipper, and another just in front of and below the dorsal fin. The tail flukes can be pale grey, blue-grey or white on the underside, usually with a dark margin. The baleen plates are white, grey or cream in colour.
The minke is widespread and seasonally abundant in the North Atlantic Ocean. In the winter, they migrate southwards, although it is unclear where their breeding grounds are located. In summer, concentrations shift northward to Spitsbergen and the Barents Sea, the coast of Norway and the waters off Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland. They even have been found as far south as the Gulf of the St. Lawrence.
Source: WWF