Have you ever wondered what a whale’s breath smells like? Dan Hawthorn got the chance
to find out first hand while recently kayaking off the coast of Northland, New Zealand.
According to an article in the New Zealand Herald,
Hawthorn spent nearly two hours being amongst a pod of “either Bryde’s or minke” whales, taking photos and watching
them splash around.
Some of the whales, said Hawthorn, even got close enough that he was able to smell their “whale breath.” He
described it as
Their breath smelt like “animal and shrimp and some indefinable spice that is not cinnamon but akin”.
Well, we now know the truth – there is no need to offer whales a breath mint.