Those lucky enough to visit Antarctica often remark upon the crisp, clean, and almost scentless nature of the landscape.
As nothing but sea and ice stretches on for hundreds of miles, there's little for human olfactory senses to register besides a few molecules of water vapor. That's, of course, barring the fishy musk from a bob of seals, the krill breath of a whale expelling hundreds of gallons of air from its lungs before another dive, or the feces of a thousand-strong colony of penguins.
Once you encounter living things, that crisp smell is supplanted with the diverse smells of life.
Penguins may be the adorable, tuxedoed waddlers of the animal kingdom. But their poop—not just their charm—is making a big impact on the planet.
Large penguin colonies produce a pungent aroma thanks to their guano, which is rich in nitrogen and off-gassing ammonia. Scientists who study these colonies say the smell hits you before the penguins even come into view.
While the South African penguins found in Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies and Aquarium of Myrtle Beach don't hail from Antarctica, they've thoroughly acquainted our husbandry staff with their fecal functions.
Our dedicated team of aquarists scrub the floor and rocks of our penguin habitats three times a day. Why? Because penguins poop every 5-15 minutes.
According to Ripley's Husbandry, they can even project their poop up to three feet!
Penguin poop doesn't just stink—it becomes massive. With fresh guano ejected so often, penguin colonies are known to turn the white ice of the Antarctic brown. These splotches become so large that scientists can spot massive guano stains from space. These smelly smears even help researchers locate and monitor colony movements in remote areas.
While these beds of guano provide nutrient beds for algae that can help absorb carbon dioxide over climate-sensitive Antarctica, scientists theorize penguin poop is helping protect the Antarctic in less obvious ways.
With a penguin colony capable of producing several hundred tons of waste in a year, penguin guano doesn't just produce a noxious smell but also releases enough ammonia to affect the weather.
Matthew Boyer, a climate scientist at the University of Helsinki, and his team of researchers braved the smell of an Adelie penguin colony numbering over 60,000 birds, observing when the winds shifted over guano fields that a sort of fog developed, eventually forming clouds at Marambio Base—an Antarctic outpost operated by Argentina.
Remember how we said the Antarctic was clean and clear? Typically, the only particles floating around are bits of salt and water droplets. As these droplets encounter the ammonia released from the guano, they begin sticking together. As more of these droplets stick together and become bigger, they begin forming massive clouds roaming the icy landscape.
So how do drifting penguin poop clouds fight global warming? As Boyer explained to All Things Considered , "Clouds are important for climate because they're bright and they're white and they're in the sky." These clouds help reflect heat away from the sensitive ice of Antarctica.
With these clouds helping protect against warming ice at the pole, their impact in fighting specific climate change factors, like sea-level rise, is multiplied.
In 2013, Ripley Aquariums welcomed the birth of its first African penguin, Derby. Since then, multiple chicks have hatched as a part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan to help save endangered animals.
Despite the daily poop patrol, the team understands their African penguins are ambassadors for their wild cousins. Through education and conservation, Ripley’s works to inspire guests to protect these quirky seabirds—and their surprisingly impactful excretions.
Want to experience penguins up close without booking a flight to Antarctica? Visit the African penguin habitats at Ripley’s Aquariums in Gatlinburg and Myrtle Beach—or catch them on our live penguin cam ! Watch them waddle, swim, and yes—poop—with purpose. It’s a one-of-a-kind encounter with animals that are not just cute, but climate heroes in disguise.
June 10, 2025
Refried beans aren't fried twice - the name comes from the Spanish "refritos," meaning "well-fried," not "fried again."
Robert Ripley began the Believe It or Not! cartoon in 1918. Today, Kieran Castaño is the eighth artist to continue the legacy of illustrating the world's longest-running syndicated cartoon!
