Tales From the Tail End
Some animals have interesting ways to deal with poop. Adélie penguins like to keep clean. So, they shoot their poop away from their bodies. Turkey vultures keep their poop close. They poop on their legs and feet. This cools them down.
keeps tidy
Adélie penguin
cools off
turkey vulture
sends a message
hippopotamus
Some animals mark their area with their waste. Hippos spin their tails. This spreads their poop over a wide area.
Dung beetles live in Africa. They roll balls of other animals’ poop. They eat part of it. They lay eggs in it. When the babies are born, they have food, too.
feeds the family
dung beetle
Better Out Than In?
Why do some animals eat poop? Some animals can’t get enough nourishment from their food. So, they eat it twice by eating their own poop.
There’s another reason, too. Koalas eat leaves. These are hard to digest. Microbes in their stomachs help break down this food. They make it easier for koalas to eat.
feeds the baby
koala
Baby koalas don’t have these microbes. So, the mother feeds the baby some of her poop. That helps the microbes grow in the baby’s stomach.
Now that you know more about poop, you may never think of it the same way again!
