THE dwarf minke whale looms large as we sit on a bar suspended five metres below the stern of our dive boat. Small bumps on the tip of the whale’s nose snap into focus as it comes within centimetres of us before veering past, holding us in its gaze, its exaggerated jaw giving the appearance of a smile. Dramatic silence amplifies the mammalian exchange. It is a surreal experience.
We’ve spent almost two hours waiting for the dwarf minkes to display the curiosity for which they have become known. This site, Ribbon Reef number nine, is part of the Great Barrier Reef, about 40km east of Cooktown. The area is the only place on the planet where dwarf minkes are known to gather in such large numbers — several hundred during June and July — but why they do so is one of nature’s great mysteries.
After our initial contact the animals come to us six or eight at a time, passing close, offering grunts and flashes of soft white underbelly. “Dwarf” is misleading; these amazing creatures measure up to eight metres in length and weigh up to six tonnes. They are thought to be a sub-species of the northern hemisphere minke whale and have been observed off the coast of South Africa and in waters off Brazil, New Zealand and New Caledonia. They were first seen on the Great Barrier Reef in the 1980s. Among the smallest of the baleen or “great whales”, they are filter feeders: their jaws open wide to reveal a plate covered in hairlike bristles that sieves out small fish and plankton from the ocean.
They come to northern Queensland every winter, but it was only last year that James Cook University researchers began to track their movements. So far, little has been revealed. This site may be the end point of an annual migration before they head back south to temperate or sub-Antarctic waters for summer feeding; or they may migrate east and disperse in the southern Pacific; or, another theory goes, most travel south while others disperse in the southern Pacific. All that has been established so far is that some go south: one dwarf minke swam from the reef to northwest Tasmania before its satellite transmitter fell off after 90 days.
As part of the research the dwarf minke are photographed and catalogued; individuals can be identified by their unique pattern of three-tone markings — dark grey, silver grey and white. Researchers are also studying whether human interaction changes the whale’s natural behaviour in the longer term.
The skipper of our boat Spoilsport, Captain Peter (Pirate) Conlon, has been working this area for decades but saw his first dwarf minke in 2000 when it pushed its head up out of the water in what is known as a “spy hop”. “They can be as enthusiastic as a puppy dog,” he says. “I have had anything up to 30 whales coming up.”
Typically, the whales linger for several hours and become more inquisitive over time. But interaction with tourists is strictly controlled. Today they are circling snorkellers holding on to long drift lines tethered to the rear of the dive boat. The trick to spotting the whales is to keep looking around and below, not straight ahead: they can come from any direction in ones, twos or groups of up to eight and appear immediately below a startled snorkeller before gliding silently past. They often nudge alongside, getting close and personal.
After more than a decade of contact, Conlon still talks about this phenomenon with awe. “It’s just one of those mysteries of the Earth we need to study more and find out why they come here and what they are doing,” he says.
Credits : The Australian
We’ve spent almost two hours waiting for the dwarf minkes to display the curiosity for which they have become known. This site, Ribbon Reef number nine, is part of the Great Barrier Reef, about 40km east of Cooktown. The area is the only place on the planet where dwarf minkes are known to gather in such large numbers — several hundred during June and July — but why they do so is one of nature’s great mysteries.
After our initial contact the animals come to us six or eight at a time, passing close, offering grunts and flashes of soft white underbelly. “Dwarf” is misleading; these amazing creatures measure up to eight metres in length and weigh up to six tonnes. They are thought to be a sub-species of the northern hemisphere minke whale and have been observed off the coast of South Africa and in waters off Brazil, New Zealand and New Caledonia. They were first seen on the Great Barrier Reef in the 1980s. Among the smallest of the baleen or “great whales”, they are filter feeders: their jaws open wide to reveal a plate covered in hairlike bristles that sieves out small fish and plankton from the ocean.
They come to northern Queensland every winter, but it was only last year that James Cook University researchers began to track their movements. So far, little has been revealed. This site may be the end point of an annual migration before they head back south to temperate or sub-Antarctic waters for summer feeding; or they may migrate east and disperse in the southern Pacific; or, another theory goes, most travel south while others disperse in the southern Pacific. All that has been established so far is that some go south: one dwarf minke swam from the reef to northwest Tasmania before its satellite transmitter fell off after 90 days.
As part of the research the dwarf minke are photographed and catalogued; individuals can be identified by their unique pattern of three-tone markings — dark grey, silver grey and white. Researchers are also studying whether human interaction changes the whale’s natural behaviour in the longer term.
The skipper of our boat Spoilsport, Captain Peter (Pirate) Conlon, has been working this area for decades but saw his first dwarf minke in 2000 when it pushed its head up out of the water in what is known as a “spy hop”. “They can be as enthusiastic as a puppy dog,” he says. “I have had anything up to 30 whales coming up.”
Typically, the whales linger for several hours and become more inquisitive over time. But interaction with tourists is strictly controlled. Today they are circling snorkellers holding on to long drift lines tethered to the rear of the dive boat. The trick to spotting the whales is to keep looking around and below, not straight ahead: they can come from any direction in ones, twos or groups of up to eight and appear immediately below a startled snorkeller before gliding silently past. They often nudge alongside, getting close and personal.
After more than a decade of contact, Conlon still talks about this phenomenon with awe. “It’s just one of those mysteries of the Earth we need to study more and find out why they come here and what they are doing,” he says.
Credits : The Australian
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