Benefits of Whale Poop

Whales pooping in the ocean doesn’t seem like a good thing but it is! According to scientists whale poop is a great thing for our ecosystem and can help with climate change. Thanks to baleen whales and suction-cup sensors along with drones, scientists have discovered that whales eat a lot more than we thought. Not only do they eat more, they in turn poop more. The more whale excrement we see, the better it is for the ocean life and us.

In 2015 an eight year old boy named Charlie Naysmith found a funny shaped rock on the New Zealand beach and took it home. He later found out that his rock was really ambergris, which was valued around $65,000. This sperm whale excrement takes years to form and is rare. Due to its rarity, it’s used in high end perfumes and in Europe for medicinal purposes. So is baleen whale poop just as valuable? In terms of our ecosystem, it is, just not in currency.

Benefits of Whale Poop

Scientists can tell a lot about a whale by examining their feces. By closely examining whale poop they can tell whether the whale is healthy, has a disease, how polluted their environment is and much more! Poop can also help scientists tell if an animal is stressed or not.

Baleen whales swim deep in the ocean eating krill and other items, then swim to the surface to relieve themselves. With the help of the sensors, scientists have found out that baleen whales eat a whole lot more than previously thought. Not only do they eat more, they help the environment they live in thrive! And places where there are no whale predators, the environment suffers and there are fewer krill.

Whale poop benefits our environment because it is full of iron. Small plants like phytoplankton feed on the iron, the krill eat the plant, and whale and fish eat the krill. The cycle continues, producing more food for everyone. The power of whale poop! In Antarctica where we are seeing drastic climate change, there is lack of iron. This lack of iron means there are no plants, no krill and no oceanic life that can help change the outcome. We need whales and their poop in order to improve these conditions and reverse the effects of climate change.