I went looking for an odd scientific fact to share and found something odder than I expected. However, it’s about poop, a lot of poop (however, not people poop), so if that grosses you out, don’t read on. (But I hope you will.)
Sea cucumbers live in the ocean and are often found on coral reefs. A study was done to learn how much poop these animals produce in a year. The results were startling.
The sea cucumbers that live on Heron Reef (Holothuria atra) average about 7 inches long. In one year, one sea cucumber can produce 30 pounds of poop. That’s pretty impressive for an animal the length of a pencil. But it gets even crazier.
Studies have shown that about 3 million sea cucumbers live on Heron Reef (an area of about 7 square miles.) That means that sea cucumbers produce about 70,000 tons of poop a year on this one reef.
That’s a lot of poop.
Aren’t you glad you read all the way to the end? For the complete story, check out this article in Live Science.