The Importance of Whale… Poop
Did you know that whales can sing songs that are incredibly beautiful and meaningful? Their singing is a part of their daily trips in search of food and new friends. Through singing, whales talk to each other and get to know their environment.
Another incredibly beautiful thing about whales is… their bright red poop! The color comes from their food. Whales eat primarily krill, which live together in big red groups that can be even spotted from space! Through their poop, we can learn a lot about whales’ behavior and diet, as well as its importance for the marine environment.
As whales dive to great depths to feed and then come back to the surface to breathe, they release enormous poops. It’s quite logical considering their body size, right? While pooping and swimming, the whales bring important nutrients from the depths of oceans to the surface, which stimulates the growth of phytoplankton–the single most important and staple ingredient of the marine food chain. That’s why scientists say that whale poop is a valuable fertilizer for the oceans! Fertilizers are mighty feeding ingredients that help plants grow! To learn more about them, please check out our article explaining what fertilizers are.
Having more whales pooping in the ocean is beneficial to the whole world’s marine ecosystem! Even more importantly, whales go on the longest cross-ocean trips in the world among all mammals. As they do so, they transport fertilizers from one place to many other places.
It’s not just whale poop that’s important for the oceans’ environment. Their whole body is extremely valuable, and when a whale dies, it can feed more than 400 different aquatic species. Whale bodies are also known to store up to 190,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is the same amount of the carbon emission produced by 80,000 cars per year. By absorbing all that carbon in their bodies, whales delay global warming.
Many species are dependent on the existence of whales. The overall healthy balance of the oceans relies on them, too! That’s why it’s vital to take care of the whales and the waters where they live! By eating sustainably grown fish from Kvaroy Arctic, you are helping us to take good care of the oceans and to protect the wellbeing of whales. Thank you for doing that!