Topeka Zoo Turns Elephant Poop Into Big Bucks

(Nov. 9) -- The Topeka Zoo is getting a trunk full of cash thanks to its newest gift products: dolls and gifts made from elephants' poop.

It's part of a fundraiser called My Pet Poo and here's the straight poop: Volunteers take hunks of pachyderm dung and paint with into all sorts of fun designs.

"We've had requests to paint the poop to look like a Kansas City Chief or a Jayhawk from the University of Kansas," said Kate Larison, the executive director of the Friends of the Topeka Zoo, the group doing the poop painting.

"One person even wanted a Green Bay Packer Cheesehead."

Larison said the idea of taking the poop and repackaging came up a few weeks ago at a meeting, and the group decided not to make haste with waste and started selling the pieces this week.


Each piece of My Pet Poo sells from around $10 to $25 for custom projects. In addition, each piece is lovingly painted by a volunteer and comes with a certificate of authenticity proving the poop did come from an actual elephant.

"It's like a Cabbage Patch Doll in that respect," Larison pointed out.

Painting elephant dung sounds like a crappy job -- even if the money is for a good cause -- but Larison says it doesn't stink as much as you might think.

"After the zookeepers collect it, it dries for 10 days or so and then it doesn't smell it at all," she said.

Once the poop is coated with an acrylic paint, it is also sealed with shellac to ensure that the dung is durable for the long haul.

Although the Topeka Zoo has both African and Asian elephants, the volunteers turn up their noses at using the Asian elephant poop.

"The African elephant poop is easier to deal with," Larison said cryptically, without elaborating.

In order to get the "product," the zookeepers feed the elephants two bales of hay and 10 pounds of grain a day to produce the poop, and there is much variation in form.

"Most of the pieces are round, but some are flatter while others are dome-shaped," Larison said.