Strange, Interesting, and Funny Facts About Animal Scat

Poop is a topic that many want to avoid, mostly because, well, poop is nasty, right? Well, as it turns out, there are some very interesting and sometimes even hilarious facts about animal poop that is worth a little discussion. Let’s dive into some funny animal poop facts that will leave you either cringing or laughing.

The Parrot Fish is an intriguing little sea critter. They use their beaks, which resemble that of a parrot, to scrape and bite away bits of coral on the seafloor. As a result of their coral chomping, their poop consists almost entirely of newly formed sand. That’s right, the Parrot Fish poops sand. In fact, it has been discovered that some of the white, sandy beaches of Hawaii were formed entirely from Parrot Fish poop! So the next time you’re out there catching some waves, remember: you’re walking on ancient piles of Parrot Fish excrement. At least it’s sand and not the more conventional form of animal poop.

Certain types of arachnids, or spiders, have developed methods of disguising themselves as bird poop to avoid becoming prey. The orb-web spider weaves a particular style of decoration on its web that, in conjunction with its silver body, makes it almost indistinguishable from bird droppings. When birds hunt, they use a type of scanning method that is similar to how a computer may scan for something. The spider’s disguise makes it not show up as a “blip” on the bird’s “radar”.

There are some birds that will actually shape their poop into the form of an egg in order to reduce the risk that a predator will snatch the actual eggs. The Double-Banded Courser will use funny little methods of shaping their poop into the form of an egg, and when a predator sneaks along to snatch up a quick meal, it gets a mouth full of disgusting bird poop instead. That’s definitely one way to lose an appetite!

The Australian Wombat has quite the funny shaped animal scat; it’s shaped like what appears to be a freshly baked loaf of bread. Their cubed poops are typically used to mark and claim territory for themselves. Sometimes the poop loafs are used to attract a mate as well, using the scent and shape as an indication that he’s on the prowl for a female companion. I wouldn’t recommend trying this out on your date.

Believe it or not, in the early days of the invention of the motor vehicle, cars were considered a “green” alternative to horse carriages. How could they possibly think that spewing out all those toxic fumes could be a better way to travel? Well, as it turns out, horse poop was becoming a major problem in developing areas, as it would wind up covering a great portion of the roadways through town. Oh, how far we’ve come since then.

Penguins are cute little things, that’s for sure. Flightless birds that are often associated with the coldest of climates, although many penguin species live in warmer areas of the world. The Adele Penguin is a peculiar breed that can shoot its poop quite some distance away from its body. Imagine a super soaker filled with chocolate milk and you’ll have a wonderful mental image of what it’s like. Gross, right? Well, it does serve a purpose. Scientists believe that these penguins developed such a poop shooting behavior in order to keep their body relatively clean of fecal bacteria.

Hippos seem like they would be friendly, considering that they do share some similarities to elephants, but be wary if you ever come across one, as they can be quite aggressive. We’re not here to discuss their temperament, though. We’re here to talk about poop. So how does a hippo poop? As it turns out, they spin theirs in a fan like motion when they are pooping, which distributes their package, well, all over the place, as it would be. Gross, right?

Sloths are most notably known for being slow and sluggish, but the question on everyone’s mind is: exactly how does a sloth poop? (Kidding. That’s probably not on anyone’s mind). Sloths have a very ritualistic way of doing their dirty business, as they come down from their trees, very slowly, about once every week to poop in the same spot each time. This behavior is believed to keep them safer, since they are relatively free of predators up in the trees.

Sometimes it’s best to not know what ingredients are in our cosmetic products, but you can probably guess that we’re about to tell you that poop is in some of your products. You were right, and it’s Nightingale poop, which is used many expensive anti-wrinkle creams for your face. It’s believed to work wonders against the process of aging in humans. It’s gross, but yeah, animal droppings are in some face products.

Pandas consume a whole heck of a lot of food each day, and as a result, they also poop a lot. It’s a problem for many zoos but doesn’t cause any issues out in the wild. So, just how much does a panda poop? The astounding answer: up to 50 pounds per day. Wow! Talk about a mound of stink, right?

There are many animals in this beautiful world of ours that actually consume their parent’s poop. Why on Earth would any animal want to eat the poop of their mom or dad? As it turns out, young animals will do this when they don’t have the proper nutrition, but more commonly when their stomachs are lacking in helpful bacteria that aids in the digestion of food. It’s probably not very delicious, but then again, many animals don’t have a broad range of taste buds that humans do.

The Capybara has a dual purpose poop mechanic. One type of poop that they excrete is green, soft, and filled with nutrients that other Capybara can consume later. Think of it as a way of preserving nutrients for future use. The other type of poop is brown or black and quite hard and devoid of nutritional value, which is their standard poop. Talk about not letting things go to waste.

The Tambaqui fish eats the seeds of sea plants along the floor, and as a result, can poop out some undigested seeds quite some distance away, which helps to further the ecosystem along the bottom of the ocean. While it’s quite common for land animals to do this, the Tambaqui are among the few in the ocean that help spread the seeds of plants. They can carry a seed as far as 3 miles before “planting” it in a new location.

Most people are already aware that the Dung Beetle loves to roll around balls of poop. While this is a strange behavior, it has actually helped scientists discover how long the little beetle has been around for. Dung Beetles don’t have bones, so they won’t show up in any fossil records, but researchers have discovered fossilized balls of poop that match the type of balls that Dung Beetles create.

Sheesh, what a name. The Flesh Eating Vulture is actually not as scary as it sounds since they only eat the remains of other animals… As a result of their scavenging, though, their feet get really dirty and bacteria-ridden. The way they clean their feet is pretty gross, but it works for them; they actually poop on their feet. The poop has certain bacteria in it that actually works to kill the bad bacteria from their nasty little claws and ankles. It’s gross, but when there’s not much water around, it gets the job done for them. Just don’t try this method at home, folks. Yuck.

Horse stallions are known to be quite territorial, and one method that they use to mark their territory is to make pillars of poop. That’s right, those majestic beasts also have some dirty little tricks up their sleeve. They’ll poop in the same location, making large piles of poop as a way of saying: “This area is mine, and you can’t have it.”

Facial creams aren’t the only products with poop in them. As you may or may not already know, some lipsticks also contain poop. It’s a disgusting little fact that the industry has tried to keep secret, but many people have become aware of it.

Llamas produce a very special type of poop. It’s special because it can actually fight pollution! It dilutes acid that comes from mines, and also dissolves metal particles that could be harmful when consumed. There are various mining operations around the globe that use animal poop for this very purpose. Who knew, right?

Cow manure has had quite a many uses over the course of human history, one of which is still used today. You can actually burn cow poop, either over a campfire or even on a grill, to keep mosquitos and flies away. While there are quite a number of different poops that can serve this purpose, cow poop is preferred for several reasons. One of those reasons is that cow dung doesn’t breed bacteria like most other animal feces; it’s actually quite safe to handle. The other reason is that when it dries, it is easy to transport and becomes quite odorless. It may sound gross, but it’s a method that has been used for thousands of years.

Monkeys have a bit of a bad habit: They like to throw their poop at things (and sometimes at people). They originally developed this behavior as a defense mechanism, because who wants to get animal feces flung at them? No one, that’s who, not even predators in the wild. The problem, though, is that over time, the monkeys began flinging poop as a way to cure their boredom. You see, despite their gross behaviors, monkeys are highly intelligent, with some species being so smart that they can even fly in space shuttles, paint artwork, and so on.

Architects have a lot on their plate. They are responsible for designing buildings that must stand up to the test of time, and stand up to the weight of many humans entering the building without it collapsing. One thing that architects must take into account is the weight of animal droppings or more specifically, pigeon poop on the rooftop of skyscrapers. Pigeon poop, when in mass, can weigh quite a lot, even thousands of pounds. When an architect lays out the plans for their new building, the possibility of a thousand pounds of pigeon poop adding to the top-heaviness of their structure must be taken into account.

The most expensive coffee in the world is actually the product of animal poop. That’s right, a high-class beverage is made from poop. An animal called the Civet will eat the beans of coffee, but they won’t be digested as normal food will. Instead, they are passed in the Civet’s poop, and this fecal matter is collected, processed, and sold as a very expensive coffee bean for making what some consider to be the finest cup of Joe in the world.

Wild rats are generally unwelcome in civilized areas of the world, and with good reason. Now, don’t get us wrong here, rats can make wonderful pets for some people. They’re smarter than most folks give them credit for, and they can even be trained. Wild rats, however, can carry many diseases and cause a lot of trouble in human cities. One major concern is that they poop all over the place. The reason for this is that they have an automatic response to being startled or scared. That response is to poop. They’ll poop at the slightest little disturbance of their habitat. This is fine in the fields or the forest, but in an urban landscape it just causes too many problems.

A common misconception about honey is that it is bee poop. Well, it’s actually just a mixture of the sugary nectar that they most commonly eat. It’s not something that humans would want to consume, but it’s not too far off from being something along the lines of honey.

House flies are in a constant state of pooping. Food goes in, is nearly instantly digested, and goes right back out. Grossly enough, they are also in a nearly constant state of vomiting, since their frontal excrements are a way of pre-digesting food before they consume it. If a fly lands on your arm, then it has already pooped and vomited on you. Gross…

Dog poop, while natural, is actually an environmental pollutant in human civilization. It carries all sorts of nasty little things, such as tapeworms and other parasites. So even though dog poop occurs naturally, we should still dispose of it in urban areas.

Termite nests, after they’ve been fully constructed, wind up being a mount of continuously compounding poop. The termites will eat away at the woody substance and poop it outright on the spot. It’s a bit nasty to think about an entire home made of poop, but that’s what it winds up being.

Cats have been known to poop outside of the litterbox just to show you how angry they are with you. While pooping outside of the litterbox can sometimes indicate a health issue and should be looked into, sometimes it’s just because the little guy is mad and that’s a way of asserting dominance. He’s showing you who’s boss, knowing that you’ll clean it up.

This one isn’t necessarily about animals, although “technically” it is, considering that humans are also part of the kingdom Animalia, which makes us animals, too, right? When Neil Armstrong and his crew departed from the moon landing, they left behind four bags of poop, just sitting there on the moon’s surface. Yep, poop on the moon!