?³ Why do wombats poop cubes? Scientists may finally have the answer

[ladymuck]

On a poo-related theme, the plethora of new dogs owners is causing issues. Whilst it's not on for councils to stop emptying from dog poo bins, that doesn't relieve owners of their responsibility to clean up after their pets.

Excremental growth: UK sniffs a pandemic puppy poo problem | Dogs | The Guardian

[AtW]

Watch out for one of those

[xoggoth]

Thread about poo. Excellent atW, much better than doom.

I always wonder about those rabbit droppings, you get huge (relative to rabbit size) piles in one place. Do they really produce that much in one go or do they use the same place each time?

PS No I can't be a*d to Google it.
PPS Although Googling "rabbit poo" is probably about as exciting as life gets at the mpment.

[GJABS]

Reminds me of a funny clip from "The Good Life", a 1970's sitcom

Margo (the straight-laced upper class woman played by Penelope Keith) reading a joke from a christmas cracker:
"The Ooh-Aah bird is so-called because it lays square eggs." I don't understand that.

[AtW]

"(CNN)For years, scientists have been wondering why wombat poop is cube-shaped (yes, really). Now, they say they have got to the bottom of the mystery.
Bare-nosed wombats, or common wombats, can be found in the woodlands of hilly landscapes in south and southeastern Australia and in Tasmania.
The furry marsupials are renowned for producing distinctive, cuboid poop, which researchers believe they then disperse tactically in order to communicate with one another.

Now, scientists at the University of Tasmania have discovered more about the curious phenomenon.

Using laboratory testing and mathematical models, a team of researchers found there are two stiff and two flexible areas around the circumference of the wombat intestine. The intestine, at 33 feet long, is around 10 times the length of a wombat's body.

"This ability to form relatively uniform, clean cut faeces is unique in the animal kingdom," Scott Carver, a wildlife ecologist from the University of Tasmania, said in a statement.
"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 percent of the colon intestine," he said.

The researchers say the distinctive cube shape of wombat poop is caused as a result of the drying of the faeces in the colon, and muscular contractions, which form the uniform size and corners of the poop. "

More science at the source: Why do wombats poop cubes? Scientists may finally have the answer - CNN