Animals Wildlife The Power of Penguin Poop By Shea Gunther Writer University of New Hampshire Rochester Institute of Technology University of Southern Maine Shea Gunther is a writer, entrepreneur, and podcaster living in Portland, Maine. He covers topics such as renewable energy, climate change, and nature. our editorial process Shea Gunther Updated December 17, 2018 The Adelie penguin is a master pooper. (Photo: Elisfanclub/Flickr) Share Twitter Pinterest Email Animals Wildlife Pets Animal Rights Endangered Species Penguins pack a powerful poop. So sayeth Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow and Jozef Gal, authors of the study "Pressures produced when penguins poop — calculations on avian defaecation" which found that a penguin evacuates his poop at a pressure that's up to four times higher than that of a human. Or as blogger SamW said "... no matter how hard you try to poop, a penguin can do it harder." When a penguin feels the need to void its bowels, it will stand on the edge of its nest, bend forward slightly, lift its tail, and then shoot its poop up to 40 centimeters away. That might not sound like much, but considering that a penguin is around 60 centimeters tall, it's actually quite a far distance. It's the same as a 6-foot guy shooting his waste 4 feet. OK, I admit it — the main reason I wrote this post was so I could use this delightful little image from the study: Science is awesome. Via Seed Magazine via my buddy Scott D.