16 facts about dwarf minke whales that you didn't know

1. Queensland is the only place in the world where humans can interact with dwarf minke whales. From sharks and turtles, to maori wrasse and manta rays, you can swim with almost every marine species that resides on the Great Barrier Reef, including dwarf minke whales. And Ribbon Reefs off Cooktown is where you can get up close and personal with these majestic animals.

2. The minke whale migration through the Great Barrier Reef was only discovered in the mid-1980’s. In 1981, Rob Prettejohn dove into the water to encounter an unusual creature he initially mistook for an orca. Working with a team at Queensland Museum, it was determined to be a brand new species: the dwarf minke whale. It's now one of the most elusive animal encounters you can have in the world. 

3. It’s a short and sweet visit. Showing up on the reef every June/July, dwarf minke whales only stay in town for a few months. And this is the only known predictable aggregation on the planet. 

4. They might be a 'dwarf' but adult whales can weigh in at six tonnes, and grow up to eight metres in length. That's almost as long as a double-decker bus. 

5. Females spend a lot of their lives pregnant. The average gestation period for dwarf minke whales is 10 months, and they have one calf each year which are born at approximately two metres long (that’s longer than the height of a baby giraffe). But it's a brief love affair, as mothers wean their calves after approximately six months.

6. Like fingerprints are to humans, the white and grey markings on the sides of a minke whale are unique to each whale, making each one different from the next.

7. They live to approximately 50-60 years old.

8. They may not be the oldest, but minke whales are one of the fastest whales. They can travel at speeds greater than 20 knots (more than 30km per hour).

9. What's on the menu? Like humpbacks, minke whales are baleen feeders. This means they munch on krill and small fish with their comb-like rows of bristles, which allow water to flow through while trapping their food.

10. Are they on the menu? These whales rarely have predators, however, can be preyed upon by packs of killer whales and some large sharks.

11. Trees have their rings, but one way to tell how old a minke whale is by counting the waxy layers in their ears. 

12. Minke whales typically come to the surface to breathe every two and a half minutes, but can stay under water for more than 12 minutes. But that's nothing in the whale world, as sperm whales can hold their breath for a whopping 90 minutes.

13. They've got great pipes, and they know how to use them. When underwater you can hear the minke whales singing to each other, which is their main form of communication. 

14. Want to know what it's like to come face to face with a dwarf minke whale? We know just the place to swim with them (check out this guide for all the details). Mike Ball Dive Expeditions, Divers Den, and Spirit of Freedom are among a limited number of permitted tour operators that offer snorkelling and diving trips out to the remote reef where minkes are found. Departing Cairns, trips range from three to seven nights and include up to a massive 22 dives.

15. The friendly creatures are the focus of a collaborative research effort between local tourism operators and James Cook University. Tours allow visitors to contribute directly to ongoing research, including photo-identification, behaviour research and conservation efforts with the dwarfe minke whales.

16. There are strict guidelines in place for swimming with dwarf minke whales to ensure that these interactions are sustainable. The combined conservation efforts of the operators and visitors are important to the continuation of the whales making their annual journey through the Great Barrier Reef.