Nacktnasige Wombats (australisches Beuteltier) nutzen ihren quadratischen Kot als einzigartige Kommunikationsmethode: Die Forscher vermuten, dass die Tiere in der Lage sind, etwas über Geschlecht, Alter, Fortpflanzungsstatus und mehr ihrer Nachbarn zu erfahren

>Why square poop?

>Wombats are antisocial creatures, avoiding interactions with one another except for mating and rearing young. They change burrows every few days, often returning to a previous home. As nocturnal animals, their eyesight isn’t great. Yet, they poop in common areas called latrines, and their square poop stays put, rather than rolling away.

>What are wombats learning?

>While wombats seem to recognize different individuals from the chemicals in their poo, the researchers suspect the animals are also learning about their neighbors’ sexes, ages, reproductive statuses and more.
>
>The researchers found 44 distinct compounds in wombat poo, allowing scientists to begin to tease out what each one means to the wombat.

[Deriving the functional significance of olfaction in a solitary non‐territorial herbivore: The bare‐nosed wombat Vombatus ursinus – McMahon – 2025 – Journal of Zoology – Wiley Online Library](https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jzo.70068)