The minke whale is a small baleen whale belonging to the rorqual family (Balaenopteridae). In fact, they are the smallest rorqual whales in the world, with an average length of 5.5–7 m and reaching a maximum size of 10 m.

Though small relative to other baleen whales, they weigh around 7.8–8.4 tonnes, which resembles the weight of 2–3 fully grown elephants. The minke whale is among the most widely distributed baleen whales in the world, ranging from the far north to the far south between the 60° latitudes.

There are two variants of minke whale in the Southern Hemisphere, one rather larger than the other. The larger species has now been defined as a separate species, the Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerrensis). The smaller, in the southern hemisphere, is still considered to be a common minke whale despite being somewhat smaller than other minke whales.

The minke whale’s skin is very dark grey above and lighter below, sometimes with pale trapezoidal stripes behind the flippers on the top. Minke whales have a characteristic white band on each flipper. This is absent on the Antarctic minke whale.

Minke whales can dive for up to 20–25 minutes but usually make shorter dives, lasting about 2–5 minutes. Just before diving, minke whales arch their back to a great degree, but the flukes do not rise out of the water. Minke whales have a life expectancy of around 50 years. It is estimated that there are about 700,000–800,000 minke whales world-wide.