Atlantic Right Whale Researcher

Don’t get fooled by the name of this job. Researchers at the New England Aquarium have been researching the endangered Atlantic Right Whale by studying the animals’ feces. That’s right, they learn about the Right Whale by scooping up its poo and examining it in labs.

On a good note, this method is much less dangerous to the animal’s life than capturing it and releasing it back into the sea. And according to the researcher, they can gain all sorts of valuable information about the whale by looking at its poo.

In a 2007 article on POPSCI.com, Rosalind Rolland of the New England Aquarium in Boston said this: “It surprised even me how much you can learn about a whale through its feces, you can test for pregnancy, measure hormones and biotoxins, examine its genetics. You can even tell individuals apart.”

Would this be considered “picking up the kids from the pool?”

By the way, the name “Right Whale” comes from 19th century whalers who deemed this animals name because it was the right whale to catch due to it’s high blubber content.