Ok, I must draw your attention to my long-standing and possibly pathological preoccupation with all things scatological, i.e., having to do with poop (see, for example Cleaning Up Poop In Paradise, or At Last! A Poop Museum!, among others). If you find this alarming or offensive you should stop reading now and go do something more productive, like sorting your socks.
The answer to the question, "Is Wombat poop really square?" is "yes." There's a bit more to it than that, however.
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| Cute little buggers. (Science Mag.) |
A wombat is a racoon-sized marsupial that is native to Australia. My wife and I encountered them in person during a visit to Tasmania, first at a wildlife park and then in the wilds at a place called Cradle Mountain. And it was at Cradle Mountain that we observed first-hand the marvelous phenomenon of square(ish) Wombat poop. We were walking along one of the boardwalks maintained by the Cradle Mountain Lodge and came across several specimens of poop that kind of looked like charcoal briquets. Being the poop-o-file that I am, I conducted a careful up-close inspection that confirmed it was indeed excrement.
Later, on a guided walk with a naturalist, we came upon a Wombat in nearly the same spot. The naturalist confirmed that Wombat poop is square, but explained that it comes out as a blob that the Wombat pats into cubes to mark its territory -- the shape makes it harder for rivals to move it off the path. Clever, eh? And definitely a candidate for the Poop Museum!
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| Poop in Progress |
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| Perfect! (Science Mag) |
That was the state of our knowledge for many years until very recently, when I saw a thorough scientific analysis published in the venerable Science Magazine just a few days ago. It turns out, the poop actually comes out of the Wombat as cubes!!! The article, by Tess Joose, summarizes research done by a group of scientists at Georgia Institute of Technology and in Australia. Their study was published in a hard-nosed scientific journal with the delightful name, Soft Matter. It seems the intestines of Wombats are unique in the animal world, and have evolved to produce "poop-cubes." Here's an excerpt from journal article's abstract, or summary:
Wombat dissections show that cubes are formed within the last 17 percent of the intestine. Using histology and tensile testing, we discover that the cross-section of the intestine exhibits regions with a two-fold increase in thickness and a four-fold increase in stiffness, which we hypothesize facilitates the formation of corners by contractions of the intestine. Using a mathematical model, we simulate a series of azimuthal contractions of a damped elastic ring composed of alternating stiff and soft regions. Increased stiffness ratio and higher Reynolds number yield shapes that are more square. The corners arise from faster contraction in the stiff regions and relatively slower movement in the center of the soft regions... (Yang et al., 2021)
Got it? Bottom line: Wombats poop out cubes.
So the "what" and "how" are now clear. But the "why" is more speculative. So far the best explanation is still that it serves to keep these little territorial markers in place, particularly in rocky or steep locations.
Oh, and there is still one more unanswered question: "Does it hurt?"
5 comments:
Oh My! I've inspected my share of scat in the back country while speculating who it came from. I've not seen any briquets here in SoCal, but we have very few wombats to best of my knowledge. There's a bit of speculation regarding a black panther siting, but so far no pics and no samples for DNA testing.
That seems a very specific set of muscles and contractions to shit a brick, so I would imagine, as you speculate, it is an adaptation. Staying in place is interesting, now imagine the research to complete the test of the hypothesis. Perhaps you could camp out in the area and see how long it stays in place and if/when other wombats encounter said brick what they do with it or about it.
The patty-cake explanation sounded suspect as fecal manipulation is a psychotic behavior in our species and hard to imagine in others, tho I'm not expert on that either.
Finally, can't help wondering what the result of wombat constipation might produce? Double bricks? Long loafs? brick shithouses?
Ok, too much fun.
Great comment! You are a hereby declared a fellow member of Poop Heads International.
The contemplation of a constipated Wombat is clearly the mark of a kindred spirit suffering from too much pandemic isolation. Also, I can't believe I hadn't thought to use the "shit-a-brick" phrase!
However, as you point out, the study of scat is quite serious and respected as a way to understand the ways of the wild. I'll never forget being on a guided walk with a couple of Kalahari Bushmen who were demonstrating their tracking skills. After a few feet the two of them huddled around a patch of what looked to us like absolutely barren ground and explained (through an interpreter) that there were clear signs of a small rodent having passed this way. We continued on and sure enough, we came across a piece of scat -- to the Bushmen this was like a complete 4-volume history and current status of the animal. They could tell what it was, the direction it was moving, its age and health, etc., etc., etc. Eventually we found the critter's burrow. For the Bushmen this would have provided dinner, though they stopped the demonstration at that point, refusing to waste food they weren't going to eat right away.
I assume that a Wombat for dinner was often on the menu for Tasmanian Aborigines.
Thanks again.
Dr. Sherman:
Should Karen ever have need of proof that you have far too much time on your hands, THIS is IT!
V.R.,
Lonnie King
fascinating and witty exchange! I know someone who is about to undergo bowel resection. Maybe they could talk the surgeon into a remodel...
Ok, the bowel resection customization suggestion just gained you admission to the *Fellowhip of the Golden Turd*. Congratulations!!
Actually, why stop at square shapes? Why not stars? or dodecahedrons? Hmmm. A whole new line of bespoke plastic surgery might develop from this!
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