Beastfile · Mammals

Wombat

Vombatus ursinus

Also known as Common Wombat, Bare-Nosed Wombat

The only animal that produces cube-shaped droppings, and it does it on purpose.

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Overview

The wombat is the only animal known to produce cubic feces, and the mechanism was worked out only recently. The last stretch of intestine has walls of varying stiffness, so as the very dry contents are squeezed along, the flexible sections push outward and the rigid sections hold, forming flat faces and corners. The point appears to be that cubes do not roll: a wombat marks territory by leaving droppings on rocks and logs, and a round one would fall off. The rest of the animal is built for digging, including a rump reinforced with cartilage that it uses to block a burrow entrance and crush anything that follows it in.

A wombat grazing on grass, seen from the side

Origin

Forest, heath and mountain country in southeastern Australia and Tasmania, in extensive burrow systems.

Habitat

Forest

Notable Traits

•Produces cube-shaped droppings, unique among animals
•A cartilage-reinforced rump used to block burrows
•A backward-facing pouch so digging does not fill it with soil
•Digests for up to two weeks, producing very dry waste
•Burrow systems that can run tens of meters

Conservation

Least Concern for the common wombat, though the northern hairy-nosed wombat is Critically Endangered and confined to a tiny area. Vehicle strikes and mange are the practical pressures.