There has to be a reason, or reasons.
When I’m in the field and come across scat from animals such as deer, elk, pronghorn or rabbits I often wonder why (and how) their poop is in pellet form. Then, by the time I get home I’ve forgotten about it and don’t do the research.
But this photo, taken three days ago on Antelope Island, hasn’t allowed me to forget about it. This buck pronghorn unceremoniously took a dump right in front of me and I’ve found his falling fecal pellets pretty hard to ignore. The lighting is poor on most of the animal but it’s just about ideal on his ‘business end’ where it matters.
There has to be a reason, or reasons, why some animals poop pellets and others, including humans, don’t. The other question is, how in the world are the pellets formed in their digestive tracts? You’d almost think that those animals must have some kind of ‘forms’ similar to ice cube trays, or alternately some kind of sausage making machine, in their colons and/or rectums.
So yesterday I finally did the research and found this explanation from the folks at The Straight Dope so I thought I’d share.
“A legitimate question. Let us deal with the matter as scientists.
A combination of things is involved. The answer lies in large part in the digestive tract itself. In animals such as rabbits, the feces are formed into pellets by the colon, which pushes them out into the rectum rhythmically, leading to a fairly uniform shape and size. Of course, the rectum also plays a role. Some animals have internal muscles that control the process to a degree, such that each fewmet comes out virtually the same size and shape–essentially, the rectum acts a lot like a press (maybe a better analogy would be a sausage-making machine). Caterpillars, which lack a colon or sphincter, derive the shape of their droppings entirely from the rectum, while the dropping shapes of animals such as goats, deer, and rabbits are due to a combination. Horse apples are not quite as consistent, but they’re close. When the feces are more amorphous, only the anal sphincter contributes to the shape; if the sphincter stays open a long time, you tend to get long, unbroken masses, as in humans. The phenomenon doesn’t correlate strictly with a fibrous diet (though the pellets would probably not hold their shape otherwise), since animals like cows and buffaloes have a fibrous diet but most definitely have soupy poop. Obviously, the digestive process itself–which is different in ruminants such as cattle–is also a factor.
So, to recap, the #1 factor is the colon, #2 is the rectum (and possibly sphincter), and #3 is the diet and how it’s digested (that is, those factors which determine the consistency of the feces itself).”
So now you know and so do I. And yes, I feel better.
When you do research like this you never know what you’ll come across. Did you know that spitting antelope pellets is a sport? Check this and this out.
On that alimentary note, Happy Easter!
Ron
Poopie the Pronghorn is a great conversation starter this morning! Putting in my 2 cents (at least it’s not “poo scents” 😉) about shape and consistency here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_stool_scale
Digestive systems are fascinating! Yay for the Wombats and the jelly bean makers. Better out than in (I prefer to pretend I didn’t follow both links about certain Afrikaners’ recreational activities)…*shudder*
And while we’re on the subject, to bidet or not to bidet?https://southpark.cc.com/episodes/9niic5/south-park-japanese-toilet-season-26-ep-3
Marty, the graphic in that first link is something to see.
And while we’re on the subject of bidets, I’ve never understood their appeal. Not one little bit.
Marty, thanks for the link to the Bristol stool scale. Kenneth Willoughby Heaton, an unsung hero. A dirty job, and he did it.
Yes, a conversation starter for sure. I think people are starved for some humorous distraction. Thanks, Ron.
Yet another sport I have less than no interest in…
And thank you for this very different take on things. Just the same it would make clean up easier if we did crap pellets.
“Just the same it would make clean up easier if we did crap pellets”
Excellent point, EC. It would save on toilet paper too.
Hmmmm. OK so my little chocolate Easter eggs look like, uh, pellets. Thanks for that. 😉😉
Ha, you’re certainly welcome, Kathryn.
I appreciate the rather lighthearted/educational post and all the commentary on this miserably gray Easter Day, I’ve been 😂😂 at more than a few of the replies. But your first photo said it all, Dr Dudley, up-close crop *really* not necessary! And I was afraid to even look at those links…just nope! 😳
C’mon, Chris – be brave and look at them. The first one is only a Wikipedia article with no photos. No promises on the second…
Ok, I looked at Wiki entry, even clicked on second link (but did not watch video) — honestly, your initial question about it was really all I needed to know! 🙃
😁
Well, you started this so I just have to add one more note. Rabbits do form nice pellets. However, that’s not the whole story. Their digestive tract is such that this requires two trips through the system. They don’t get enough nutrition the first time through. They lick a softer feces directly out of the anus, chew it again for a bit to macerate it more completely and pass it through their system again. The first fecal matter never reaches the ground and we don’t see it. The second time pulls more nutrition out and now they drop the pellets we are more familiar with.
That’s exactly right, Dan. I almost mentioned it but figured it was a little beyond the scope of my post. Thanks for fleshing it out as a comment.
and…
How do wombats poop cubes? Scientists get to the bottom …
Science
https://www.science.org › content › article › how-do-wo…
Humans may be fascinated by cubes, but only one animal poops them: the bare-nosed wombat. This furry Australian marsupial squeezes out nearly 100 six-sided …
Yes, Robert. a Wombat. With only one cup of coffee this morning, I was confused. Not a Tasmanian Devil, a Wombat! I should keep my fingers off the keyboard when I’m running on one cup of coffee!
Mikal – that’s exactly why I never start writing my blog post text in the morning until I have at least one cup of coffee in me. Even when I do I still make mistakes but the coffee helps.
Ouch. Those sharp corners must do a number on wombat anal sphincters. Makes my eyes water just to think of it…
Poop Happens !!!!!
Interesting post Ron. I don’t think I will be taking up the sport of pellet spitting anytime soon. An educational post for sure.
Happy Easter to all who celebrate it.
PS – like Michael’s input
Thanks, Everett. When she comments, Mikal always has something interesting to say.
Um, for sport I’ll stick to my own cultural tradition of spitting watermelon seeds, thank you very much! Just yesterday someone asked me what I had learned in the last day. I had an interesting reply to contribute, but in case someone asks again soon, I’ll have this tidbit to relay! Now check out this one: Tasmanian Devils poop out cubes! Cross my heart!
Mikal, I see you corrected yourself above. I’ll respond there.
Just what I needed with my morning coffee. I have wondered about that myself so thanks. Happy Bunny Day.
Jo, glad to know you’re not fussy about what goes with your morning coffee…
Love the entire post and the clever responses. Personally, ice cube trays will stick with me.
It does bring an image to mind doesn’t it Pat.
Thanks, I have wondered about this and now I know. I think moose poop look pellet like, too.
Happy Easter and may spring be here to stay,
Kaye
“I have wondered about this and now I know”
Glad to know I’m not the only one, Kaye. I didn’t think I was but I wasn’t sure.
Well– I guess if you don’t have any watermelon seeds, you have to use
SOMETHING………talk about challenged for entertainment !
“talk about challenged for entertainment”
Kris, whatever floats your boat I guess.
Ha ha ha! Happy Easter to all us bunnies. Now, I haven’t envied rabbits much in my life, but i do envy them the “fewmets.” A word I learned from T.H. White in his King Arthur series. Along with much about falconry.
Sallie, I’ll admit that I’d never heard of “fewmet” until I read The Straight Dope article I included in my post.
I, along with the vast majority of humanity, have often wondered, somewhat subliminally to be sure, about the various geometries of excreta. However, it would take an extra-curious mind, far from turgid in shaping one’s thoughts around the matter, to research the subject and present, in graphic detail, the science of fecal morphology. You, sir, deserve a pile of praise for delivering the goods.
Thanks, Lyle. I’ll take my piles however I can get them, except for the hemorrhoidal variety of course.
Wow! What a great Easter post😂
Very interesting and informative.
I think I will pass on the pellet spitting though.
Thanks, Brett. Think about it – you may change your mind…
Now I know tho other than being aware of it I hadn’t pondered it. 😉 As to the spitting pellets – guess that’s under the heading of “eat shit and like it” tho the intention of the phrase surely isn’t doing it for fun! 😉
Couple of Magpies being weird the last few days – jumping from rock to rock on the creek and kind of dipping their beaks in the water tho don’t appear to be drinking. Hmmmm
Happy Easter!
Sounds like interesting magpie behavior, Judy. Wish I had my lens on them while they were doing it.
It being Easter and you being a bird guy and all, I thought today you would do a piece on eggs. So, okay.
“And yes, I feel better.”
Afterward, I always do too. Coffee time.
” I thought today you would do a piece on eggs”
I actually considered it, Michael. But the image of Poopie the Pronghorn kept intruding into my mind.
Scatology 101…. Interesting way to start a Sunday morning. 🤪🐇🤗
“Scatology 101”
Mark, I almost used that as my subtitle. Maybe I should have.