Learn more about quokkas over on Animalogic: https://bit.ly/2MWz9pa Animals eat their own poop in order to gain extra access to nutrients or to microbes that help digest those nutrients. Thanks also to our Patreon patrons https://www.patreon.com/MinuteEarth and our YouTube sponsors. ___________________________________________ To learn more, start your googling with these keywords: Coprophagy: Consuming feces Allocoprophagy: Consuming others’ feces Autocoprophagy: Consuming one’s own feces Fecal microbiota transplant: A treatment for C. diff that involves transplanting feces from a healthy individual into a patient. Cecotropes: Also known as night poops, these are the soft, shiny pellets that rabbits excrete and then consume. Pap: A special substance produced by mother koalas that their babies feed on during the transition from drinking milk to eating eucalyptus leaves. ___________________________________________ Subscribe to MinuteEarth on YouTube: http://goo.gl/EpIDGd Support us on Patreon: https://goo.gl/ZVgLQZ And visit our website: https://www.minuteearth.com/ Say hello on Facebook: http://goo.gl/FpAvo6 And Twitter: http://goo.gl/Y1aWVC And download our videos on itunes: https://goo.gl/sfwS6n ___________________________________________ Credits (and Twitter handles): Script Writer: David Goldenberg (@dgoldenberg) Script Editor: Emily Elert (@eelert) Video Illustrator: Ever Salazar (@eversalazar) Video Director: David Goldenberg (@dgoldenberg) Video Narrator: Emily Elert (@eelert) With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Alex Reich, Kate Yoshida, Peter Reich Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder: http://www.soundcloud.com/drschroeder ___________________________________________ References: Masi, S., and Brueur, T. (2018). Dialiumseed coprophagy in wild western gorillas: Multiple nutritional benefits and toxicity reduction hypotheses. American Journal of Primatology. 80:4 (e22752). Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29664132 Osawa, R. Blanshard, W. and Ocallaghan, P. (1993). Microbiological Studies of the Intestinal Microflora of the Koala, Phascolarctos-Cinereus .2. Pap, a Special Maternal Feces Consumed by Juvenile Koalas. Australian Journal of Zoology. 41(6): 611-620. Retrieved from: http://www.publish.csiro.au/ZO/ZO9930611. Mack, A., and Druliner, G. (2003). A Non-Intrusive Method for Measuring Movements and Seed Dispersal in Cassowaries. Journal of Field Ornithology. 74:2 (193-196). Retrieved from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4131128 Eckman, L. (2018). Personal communication. Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, UCSD. Suen, G. (2018). Personal communication. Assistant professor, Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Brogan, J. (2016). Everyone Poops. Some Animals Eat It. Why?. Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved from: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/everyone-poops-some-animals-eat-it-why-180961020/