Kathryn Ono discusses minke whale sightings off the Maine coast with the ‘Press Herald’

Some visitors to Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth have been treated to whale sightings recently.

At least one minke whale has been spotted not far from the shoreline in the midafternoons. The whale has been coming close enough to shore to be easily seen with the naked eye.

Kathryn Ono, Ph.D., associate professor of marine science, told the Portland Press Herald that minke prefer to cruise for food farther offshore but will follow the schools of fish wherever they might go.

“That’s cool that they’re so close in, but given that there’s a lot of food there, it’s not that surprising,” Ono told the Press Herald.

Ono says minke are the most common baleen whale in the Gulf of Maine, and are distinguished by their bony mouth plates, which are used to catch the tiny krill and small fish that make up their diet.