Antartic Minke Whale
News article
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15 September 2015
Park Rangers are continuing to actively monitor sightings of a whale that has beached itself an number of times around Boston Bay – Port Lincoln foreshore area on Tuesday 15 September.
Park Rangers are continuing to actively monitor sightings of a whale that has beached itself an number of times around Boston Bay – Port Lincoln foreshore area on Tuesday 15 September.
Manager of Southern & Eastern Districts Peter Wilkins said the Natural Resources Eyre Peninsula had received a number of calls this morning from community members, including teachers from the Tumby Bay Area School who were on class excursion in Port Lincoln to report the stranded whale.
“We are very thankful and appreciative of the community, including the students and teachers of Tumby Bay Area School for reporting this stranding incident. Their initial quick report the incident to NREP and provide great video and photographs of the whale has enabled us to identify the species and begin preparations for management of the animal.
The South Australian Museum’s Curator of Mammals, Dr. Catherine Kemper, has identified the whale as an Antarctic Minke Whale (Balenoptera bonaerensis). This species has been recorded as growing up to about 11m in length, and a 9m female weighed 9.4 metric tons. The Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission agreed upon a best population estimate of 515,000.
The whale was last seen in front of the Port Lincoln Yacht Club, this morning, please report sightings by telephoning the NREP Wildlife Duty Ranger on 86883223
