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Why Wombats Poop Cubes
David Hu
It might be tricky to say the next sentence without giggling. Wombats have poop shaped like a box.
These animals use droppings to mark their territory. The cube shape keeps poop from rolling away.
Until recently, scientists weren’t sure how wombats’ bodies produce these cubes. After studying several wombats, they now think it’s all about how their guts work.
Our bodies move along food we eat with even squeezes. Wombats’ guts squeeze with different pressure at different points. This uneven pressure shapes wombat waste into cubes.
A wombat crossing road sign in Australia, where wombats live