ANIMALS & NATURE well. Some still use it for these purposes today! When it is completely dry, it only has an earthy scent so homes and fires will not distract from a pleasant evening! Some cultures even used it to rid themselves of freckles by rubbing dung on their faces! There is a special coffee that is made from the seeds excreted by the civet cat. This is called kopi luwak and is very expensive due to the enzymes in the digestive tract of the cat. It is considered a delicacy by some. Humboldt penguins are diminishing in number to the harvesting of guano for fertilizer.
The Scoop on Poop Chaille Blount, Education Specialist
They then have no where to dig their nests. Animals use feces in many ways. For defense, some animals will have explosive
Although poo is taboo, it is important at the Zoo! And let’s
episodes to deter prey from
just be honest, we have a lot of it! One may call it dung, scat,
eating them. The skipper
pies or buttons….but here is the word on turds.
caterpillar will launch its
To tell the truth, scat has been an amazing resource for
poo about 6 feet away so
humans and animals throughout history.
birds aren’t attracted to them. This is equivalent to humans
Penguin fertilizer pellets
shooting theirs over ¾ of a football field! For marking their We can tell much by
territory, animals will defecate as a sign that this is their land.
observing what is left
Hippos will even use their tails as little helicopters and will
behind. In the wild,
fling their feces as if it had hit a fan! Rhinos will stomp in it
feces can be used to
and walk around to increase their perimeter. Some animals
inform us on the health
have a poor digestive system and many will re-ingest their
and habits of animals.
feces to extract more nutrients. The dry hard rabbit pellets
It can also be used for tracking and population
that are visible are actually what remain after consuming the Elephant bolus
sizes. Because it is usually solid, it can be dated so we can even track timelines for animals and the abundance of food in their natural habitat. Hormone components can also be tested to determine fertility, pregnancy or estrus. This becomes important when conservation scientists are looking at threatened species or animals whose populations are declining. At the Zoo, we use feces in much the same way. We collect feces from the animals that reside here twice a year for routine
first round of slimy, non-formed feces. This is also common with the young of some animals. Koalas predominately eat eucalyptus. This is a plant that makes most ill who eat it. Koala babies are not born with the enzymes to digest the eucalyptus, so it consumes a little dung from its mother to start producing its own enzymes. Incidentally, because of their diet, koalas have poo that has a minty fresh scent! Turkey vultures have a special use for their feces. To keep themselves cool, they defecate on their legs. The following evaporation helps reduce the possibility of overheating.
examinations. We also collect samples if we notice an animal
Even dinosaur doo
is not behaving normally. This is one of the easiest methods of
is found fossilized. It
checking the health of the individuals in our collection.
is called a coprolite. Scatologists can study
In its most primitive forms, scat was dried and used as building
this and, while many find
material and for fuel. Many forms of dung are plant-based, so
it a most uncomfortable
when it is dry, it becomes very strong. Because the remaining
topic, it is one of utmost
plant material is so compact and concentrated, it burns very Dinosaur Coprolite
importance at the Zoo.