Dung beetles are another species famous for eating feces, but they are different from rabbits in that they eat other animals’ poop instead of their own. Thousands of dung beetle species exist in the world on every continent except Antarctica, with about 75 species native to North America, according to the San Diego Zoo.
Most dung beetles eat the feces of animals that eat plants, although some feast on manure from carnivores and a few don’t eat feces at all, instead dining on mushrooms, decaying fruits and plant matter as well as animal carcasses. Similarly, butterflies meet most of their nutritional needs from nectar and fruit, but they also sometimes dine on scat to get additional nutrients.
SCAT-TERGORIES: THE SCOOP ON POOP
For dung beetles, timing is everything, and the fresher the feces the better, the San Diego Zoo reports. That’s because they feed on the liquid found within a manure pile, and the longer the excrement sits out, the drier it gets.
Dung beetles don’t just rely on poop for their diet; dung is also key to their reproduction. According to the San Diego Zoo, most species of dung beetles either lay their eggs in or on manure. Some even bury the dung underground to protect the eggs. In fact, in some parts of Texas, more than 80 percent of cow manure is buried by dung beetles. Without this important action, much of the ground would be covered with hard, dry manure, which would stifle plant growth.
While most animals don’t eat feces, some young animals, including hippo and elephant calves, do eat excrement from their mothers or from other animals in their herd during the transition from consuming their mothers’ milk to a solid diet, Live Science reports.
For these young animals, eating feces helps populate their digestive systems with the healthy bacteria that aids in digestion.
Puppies, too, often eat feces, although they usually outgrow the habit by about the time they are nine months old, according to the American Kennel Club.