There's no doubt that the natural world can be utterly awe-inspiring ... and completely disgusting. Yes, there are plenty of scenes in nature that David Attenborough wouldn't be willing to film, which are revolting enough to turn the stomach of even the strongest person.

If you want an example of just how gross (and fascinating) nature can be, then take a gander at the following footage, which has gone viral on social media this week.

The incredible short clip shows the world's largest animal, a blue whale, defecating while underwater, creating a mesmerizing luminous green display. The footage was recorded by researchers observing whales migrating south along the West Australian coastline, using drones flying high above Point Picquet; three hours south of Perth.

Commenting on the incident in a later interview with ABC News, Ian Wiese and Rodney Peterson (of the West Australian Centre for Whale Research) told reporters that they captured two separate defecations. Peterson stated: "It was the first time I had seen a blue whale, which was incredible enough, but then I realized it was doing something pretty interesting. Fair to say, it left quite a streak in the ocean."

Meanwhile, whale expert Curt Jenner stated: "It's an exciting development given [blue whales] are still one of the more endangered animals on the planet, yet we know so little about their behaviour. Knowing they are able to source a regular food supply is an indication of the health of the ocean and that should be of interest to everyone."

He continued: "[As whales] swim along and beat their tails, they distribute their feces and similarly, as they dive to the depths and surface again, they're mixing that throughout the different layers of the water columns."

He added: "It's an incredible process of taking the bottom part of the food chain up to the surface then back down again ... Oddly, it smells a lot more like dog poo than anything fishy. It's otherwise perfectly disgusting."

But this isn't the first time we've written about these incredible sea mammals. Check out this article we penned all about how humpback whales ingeniously subdue their prey.

There's no doubt that the natural world can be utterly awe-inspiring ... and completely disgusting. Yes, there are plenty of scenes in nature that David Attenborough wouldn't be willing to film, which are revolting enough to turn the stomach of even the strongest person.

If you want an example of just how gross (and fascinating) nature can be, then take a gander at the following footage, which has gone viral on social media this week.

The incredible short clip shows the world's largest animal, a blue whale, defecating while underwater, creating a mesmerizing luminous green display. The footage was recorded by researchers observing whales migrating south along the West Australian coastline, using drones flying high above Point Picquet; three hours south of Perth.

Commenting on the incident in a later interview with ABC News, Ian Wiese and Rodney Peterson (of the West Australian Centre for Whale Research) told reporters that they captured two separate defecations. Peterson stated: "It was the first time I had seen a blue whale, which was incredible enough, but then I realized it was doing something pretty interesting. Fair to say, it left quite a streak in the ocean."

Meanwhile, whale expert Curt Jenner stated: "It's an exciting development given [blue whales] are still one of the more endangered animals on the planet, yet we know so little about their behaviour. Knowing they are able to source a regular food supply is an indication of the health of the ocean and that should be of interest to everyone."

He continued: "[As whales] swim along and beat their tails, they distribute their feces and similarly, as they dive to the depths and surface again, they're mixing that throughout the different layers of the water columns."

He added: "It's an incredible process of taking the bottom part of the food chain up to the surface then back down again ... Oddly, it smells a lot more like dog poo than anything fishy. It's otherwise perfectly disgusting."

But this isn't the first time we've written about these incredible sea mammals. Check out this article we penned all about how humpback whales ingeniously subdue their prey.