Wombat Poop Is Square And Scientists Have Finally Figured Out Why
Scientists have finally solved why wombat poop is square – as they are the only known species to do so.
Although they have a***es like any other mammal, wombats don’t produce round-shaped or messy piles of pellets.
This has left researchers baffled for years – but now we may finally have an answer as to why the creature has the most neatly shaped faeces in the animal kingdom.
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Scientists at the University of Tasmania have used laboratory testing and mathematical models to do some digging.
Scott Carver, a wildlife ecologist from the University of Tasmania, says in a statement (via CNN): “They place these faeces at prominent points in their home range, such as around a rock or a log, to communicate with each other.
“Our research found that these cubes are formed within the last 17 per cent of the colon intestine.”
The researchers believe that the distinctive shape of wombat poop is due to the drying of faeces in the colon and muscular contractions – which form the size and corners.
A team led by Dr Patricia Yang studied the digestive tracts of wombats put down in road accidents in Tasmania.
The researchers compared the intestines of wombats and pigs by inserting a balloon into the animals’ digestive tracts to see how they would stretch.
They found that in the wombats, the faeces would change from a liquid-like state to a solid state within the last 25 per cent of the intestines.
By the way @BBCiPM, we’re delighted to say that we now have Wombat poo in our collection…here it is in all it’s cubic glory! pic.twitter.com/Q7C9erGyd8
— National Poo Museum (@PooMuseum) September 15, 2018
Yet in the final eight per cent, a varied elasticity of the walls meant the poop would take on a square shape.
Interestingly, the marsupial stack these cubes – the higher they are the better, as they use them to communicate with the other wombats.
Wombats in the wild tend to deposit their droppings on top of rocks or logs and they can be used as territory markers – with them sometimes forming piles.
They prefer to poop in elevated areas, despite the fact they have short, stubby legs.
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Dr Yang says, per the BBC: “We currently have only two methods to manufacture cubes: We mould it, or we cut it. Now we have this third method.
“It would be a cool method to apply to the manufacturing process.”
While Carver says he believes this research may one day help medical scientists, explaining (via ABC): “Colorectal cancer, stress and various other things can influence the kind of faeces that people produce.”
He says that although there may not be direct medical breakthroughs down to the research, it will add to ‘cumulative knowledge that contributes to helping understand human medical conditions’.
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