Scientists Finally Discover Why Wombats Poop in Cubes
Why and how wombats, marsupials native to Australia, produce cube-shaped droppings has long puzzled scientists. A team of mechanical engineers and biologists studying this phenomenon—considered one of nature’s most intriguing biological processes—has now unraveled the mystery in a new study.
The research found that, contrary to popular belief, the cube shape is not caused by a square-shaped anus or compression by the bones. Instead, it results from distinctive muscle movements and differences in elasticity in the final section of the intestine.
Wombats, which can grow to about a metre long and weigh around 30 kg, leave their droppings on strategically chosen high spots to communicate and mark their territory.
The cube shape also offers a natural advantage: it keeps the droppings from rolling away and getting lost.
For years, researchers suggested that wombats had square anal sphincters (rings of muscle) or used their pelvic bones to shape their droppings. However, CT scans of a live bare-nosed wombat disproved these theories. The scans showed that its anus is round, just like that of other animals, and that its pelvic bones are too far from the intestine to compress the droppings.
Researchers who dissected the digestive tracts of three wombats killed in traffic accidents found that their feces dry out toward the end of digestion, forming cubes.
In the final 17 percent of the intestine, the water content drops sharply, helping the stool hold its shape more firmly.
The shape itself is produced by differences in stiffness within the intestinal tissue. Microscopic examinations have shown that the final section is not uniform: around its circumference, it has an alternating pattern of two stiff and two soft regions—“stiff-soft-stiff-soft.” Researchers compare the tissue to a rubber band held slightly taut at both ends, with a slack middle. Because the elastic and taut sections contract and squeeze at different rates, sharp corners form on the stool.
Can Animals Really Poop Star-Shaped Droppings?
Using their data, the researchers developed a computer simulation of a two-dimensional cross-section of the intestine. They confirmed that square-shaped stool formed when regions of varying stiffness were added to the model, but not when the structure was homogeneous.
After adjusting the model’s parameters, the researchers calculated that increasing the number of stiff regions around the intestine to three or four could produce hexagonal or octagonal stool. This suggests that organisms with different muscle structures could theoretically exist in nature and produce star-shaped or polygonal droppings.
Today, industrial cubes are mostly produced by hand using molding or cutting methods.
Scientists believe the unique flexibility and compression mechanism in wombats’ intestines could inspire industry to develop a new engineering approach to producing geometric shapes.
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