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A writer by passion and profession, I've been writing since I was old enough to know how, so establishing a weblog
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Wednesday, August 27, 2003
A.K.A. "Poo" That is the term research scientist Nick Gales used in the caption for this photo and the Discovery Channel story: Whale Flatulence Captured in Photo. It reads:
"The picture is of an Antarctic minke whale taken from the bow of a ship," research scientist Nick Gales explains. "The white bits in the photo are pieces of ice-floe, the stream of pinky color behind the whale is a fecal plume — a.k.a. "poo" — the large circle in the water is indeed the physical eruption of the whale's flatulence."
According to the story, Gales and his colleagues are studying the whales' eating habits and feeding grounds. But theirs is a kinder, gentle study:
"Instead of resorting to killing whales, the Australian Antarctic Division scientists have developed a method that allows them to collect whale feces and study its DNA to figure out what the whale recently consumed."
Gentler on the research subject, murder on the researchers and their olfactory organs. Gale, in fact, had to leave the bow of the ship after experiencing this particular whale's "release" (as they also call it).
While the hook to the article -- the photo and headline -- may be somewhat humorous and innocuous in nature, the article touches on their more serious investigation into the impact of the whales' appetites and habits on commercial fisheries, the food web and the environment or ecology. An interesting read and quick read. So...can you imagine the size of their pooper scooper?
Picture by Captain Joe Borkowski III and Nick Gales / Discovery Channel
That is the term research scientist Nick Gales used in the caption for this photo and the Discovery Channel story: Whale Flatulence Captured in Photo. It reads: