Ever Wondered if Poop Serves Any Useful Purpose?
Kelley Davis, the owner of Augie, a 2-year-old greater Swiss mountain dog from North Carolina, knows that poop serves a purpose. Davis thought she had lost $400 in cash. She realized Augie had eaten the money using what she called "the process of elimination!"
(By Kelley Davis Via The News & Observer And Associated Press)
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This question may be a little hard on the stomach, especially at breakfast time, but keep in mind that people are the only members of the animal kingdom that get grossed out by poop. For everyone else, it's just a part of life. Here are some of the ways that animals rely on poop to survive.
Elephants have a lot of undigested plant matter in their poop. Rather than going to waste (no pun intended), a mound of elephant poop is a veritable feast for such insects as dung beetles. They roll it, eat it and even lay their eggs in it.
Chickens peck at their poop to get important vitamins that are produced by the bacteria that live in their intestinal tracts. I bet this makes the vitamin your mom gives you sound like a bargain!
Wild rabbits don't get enough nutrition from the plant matter they ingest.
To deal with that, they eat poop after its first trip through their intestines. By digesting poop a second time, the rabbit is able to get more nutrients from what it eats.
Skipper caterpillars can shoot poop pellets five feet through the air! This is equivalent to an adult human throwing poop 240 feet. Scientists think the caterpillars do this because wasps are attracted to the smell of their droppings, and hurling their feces sends the buzzing bandits on a wild-goose chase.
The mothers of certain deer, elk and gazelles eat their young's pee and poop so there will be no smells to attract hungry predators.
The dedicated moms stop the behavior when their babies are about 4 weeks old and can run fast enough to protect themselves. (The next time your mom and dad complain about changing your little sister's diaper, let them know what some parents do for their babies!)
Despite the squeamishness of city-bred folks, some humans are more open-minded about poop. In the 19th century, pioneers burned dried buffalo poop so it could be used as fuel. Some African tribes mix cow poop with straw to strengthen their huts. Animal manure is a terrific fertilizer because it contains nitrogen that plants need to grow. And you can buy stationery made from elephant dung!
So the next time your parents fork over $200 to the plumber who unclogs a blocked toilet, remember that he's not the only creature who profits from poop!
-- Howard Bennett
Bennett, a Washington pediatrician and author of health-related books for kids, writes about gross things for KidsPost.
