Talk:Minke Whale

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Minke Whale was a good article nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. There are suggestions below for improving the article. Once these are addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake. Reviewed version: February 7, 2007

Is the range image for the Dwarf correct? It seems to conflict with the text that it is a subspecies of the Northern. - UtherSRG 21:54, Jan 29, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Failed Good Article Candidate

I think this article still needs some work to bring it up to Good Article standards. For an idea of what it could look like, see Blue Whale. There is almost enough material present here, but it needs some additions, along with some wikification and referencing.

• The lead section should be fuller and more descriptive.
• Taxonomy section requires proper citations. It might also cover evolution of the species.
• Physical characteristics could be expanded, but also requires some citations
• Population and distribution section is largely unwikified, makes citations without following the right format, and could do with being rewritten for clarity.
  • Note: a 95% confidence interval is a range of two values (e.g., given this sample, there is a 95% confidence that the population parameter will be within those values). The population is only given as one value. --Jeffmcneill 10:28, 15 February 2007 (UTC)
• Whaling: Generally good in this section, could do with more inline citations (e.g. the International Whaling Commission study).
• Categories: Is it really appropriate to be in the 'Fauna of Ireland' and 'Fauna of Scotland' categories and no others?

Hope these comments are helpful in improving the article, The Land 11:58, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Conservation status / split

I've removed the conservation status, because this article covers two animals and not one. The article needs to be split (Common and Antarctic) before it's added back. —Pengo 22:39, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

| status =  LR/cd
| status_system = iucn2.3
| status_ref =[1][2]

I don't think this article should be split. I have no problem with adding separate articles for the Common and Antarctic Minkes (although aren't there know thought to be 3 species?) but the Minke page should not be a disambiguation page but should provide the general information on Minkes, similar to Common Dolphins and others. Users shouldn't be required to know which type of Minke they are looking for in order to get the general information which is common to all Minkes. Of course the general Minke article should have links to the various Minke species.Rlendog (talk) 17:03, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Splitting is necessary. How else can we identify the conservation threats and current status? And the new status_system = iucn3.1 should be piped. --Wloveral (talk) 03:36, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

That can be done in separate articles for each of the Common and Antarctic Minke's without removing this page.Rlendog (talk) 12:09, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Stinky minkes

In contrast to the spectacularly acrobatic Humpback Whale, Minkes do not raise their fluke out of the water when diving and are less likely to breach (jump clear of the sea surface). This, combined with the fact that Minkes can dive under water for as long as twenty minutes, has led some whale-watching enthusiasts to label them 'stinky Minkes'.

I don't understand the logic. Why would this lead them to be so labelled? Perhaps more detail is required. Ordinary Person 01:43, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

• I don't know. Does anybody else have an answer?—GalacticExplorer 03:42, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

Some Minkies are known as "seekers" and will quite often come very close to boats - their breath leaves a LOT to be desired, this is the main reason why they get labeled with stinky minkies ;) .... It´s breath releated basically .. so there you have it - it´s anecdotal though SammytheSeal 05:40, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

We don't refer to them that way here. I believe it should be "Slinky minkes." I think the writer has some confusion regarding the nicknames of this animal. In the Salish Sea (Puget Sound), Washington State, Minkes have the moniker "slinky minke" due to the fact that they make multiple course changes underwater during their dives (pursuit of prey/feeding) and it is difficult to judge where and when the animal will appear again, if at all. In a 20 minute dive, you can loose them entirely. Most cetacean exhalations are "fishy". I haven't found their's to be any more disagreeable than other species. MercuryGlass 19:47, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

At least in the northeast, Minke's sometimes do have the nickname "stinky Minke". This is because most whale-watching operators offer a refund if no whales are encountered. And Minkes are common, but not as spectacular or exciting to see as humpbacks. So encountering a Minke voids the refund possibility without being quite what many whale-watchers were hoping for. Hence the nickname.Rlendog (talk) 17:00, 19 May 2008 (UTC)