Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Photo courtesy Gail Mastrati, DEM

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- A 15-foot minke whale has washed onto a rocky area of Matunuck, and a team from Connecticut took samples from the 1,300- to 1,500-pound mammal.

Its cause of death was not known, said Gail Mastrati, a state Department of Environmental Management spokeswoman.

"We are going to try to do our best to remove it as quickly as possible," Mastrati said.

Minke -- pronounced mink-ey -- whales are also called little piked whales, and can swim swiftly, hitting 16 to 21 miles per hour, according to an online fact sheet from the American Cetecean Society.
"The minke can be curious, and has been known to approach ships, even at times keeping up with moving vessels," the cetecean society says. The fact sheet adds that minke whale "distribution is widespread, ranging from sub-tropical to polar waters."

The minke is the littlest of what are called rorqual whales, which share certain physical characteristics, including a dorsal fin.

A minke whale mainly feasts on krill if in the Southern Hemisphere; and on small fish in schools, including cod and herring, as well as krill, in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the cetecean society.

Experts from Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration went to the scene and have since left, Mastrati said.

Mastrati said the closest area to the site of the whale is 172 Ocean Ave.

The DEM located the whale, which was at first described as possibly being of the finback variety, last night.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

 Tags  Connecticut DEM South Kingstown

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