Minke whales spotted off Dorset

Marine conservationists have been speaking of their excitement after two minke whales were spotted off the Dorset coast.


25 to 30 feet long, it is the second sighting this year of minke whales in the area - the other was on July 3. Minke whales weigh about ten tonnes and are the smallest of the filter-feeding baleen whales.

They are rarely spotted in the Channel and more common around Scotland and western Ireland. They are the smallest of the filter feeding whales and have sharply pointed snouts, short flippers and are dark grey or black in colour with a white underside.

Bottlenose dolphins are also frequently sighted off this coastline. Other Dorset sightings recently include a small number of pilot whales in Lyme Bay and a basking shark off Langton Herring