Scientists finally reveal why wombats poop in cubes

This scatological discovery is “becoming” great for the animal world!

Scientists have uncovered the mystery of why wombats poop strange cube-shaped granules, connecting them to the animal’s super long, stiff gut, according to a new study.

New research shows that short-legged marsupials take separate, barbecue charcoal-like discharges, as their intestines extend up to 33 feet long – about 10 times their body length, according to a report published Thursday in the journal Soft Matter.

It takes the 3-foot-long creature four days to expel waste from its 33-foot intestines, creating box-shaped feces as their muscles contract and dry in parts of the colon, according to the study by researchers at the University of Tasmania.

“Bare-nosed wombats are renowned for producing distinctive cube-shaped poo. This ability to form relatively uniform and clean feces is unique in the animal kingdom, ”Dr. Scott Carver, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Tasmania, said in a statement.

“The rhythmic contractions help form the sharp corners of the cubes… Our research has revealed that these cubes are formed in the bottom 17 percent of the colon’s gut,” he added.

Carver shot down previous theories that wombat poop is the result of the animal having a square-shaped anal sphincter, or the creatures shaping their droppings on their own, calling the notions “completely absurd.”

“There were wonderfully colorful hypotheses but no one had tested them,” he says.

A previous study noted that wombats, including baby wombats, use tactically placed shocks to communicate with each other.

The study garnered attention online on Friday, with many wondering: What is a wombat? The animals live in Australia and Tasmania, typically weigh 45 to 75 pounds, and feed on grass and roots.