Sperm Whale Poo

Cool (and weird) cetacean fact of the day! The feces of sperm whales is helping to save the planet. WHAAAT? Australian researchers have found that iron-rich whale poop from sperm whales living in the Southern Ocean boosts the growth of phytoplankton (marine plants) which suck in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They estimate that this population of whales alone are responsible for removing 400,000 tons of carbon EACH YEAR, twice as much as they contribute through respiration. Previously, the enormous mammals were regarded as "climate criminals" (by...you can probably guess) because they breathe out carbon dioxide. But the researchers concluded that they are a major carbon absorbent, removing the equivalent of the emissions of 40,000 cars EACH YEAR. Whales... where would we be without them? (Source: http://ind.pn/bgy2ss). Cool photo by Tony Wu. -cm