this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] Hegar@fedia.io 40 points 1 month ago (11 children)

It's probably a gut microbe thing that aids in processing food more efficiently, right? Koalas eat their own shit as well - I think their mothers even feed them shit, iirc. I think it's not uncommon among herbivores.

[–] agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works 32 points 1 month ago (8 children)

They have two kinds of poop: the little cocoa pebble ones, and soft wet ones that look like grape clusters, called cecotropes. The cecotropes are partly digested, and they eat them to extract more nutrients the second go round.

[–] Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 month ago (2 children)

So it's like chewing cud, except it's multiple passes of the same stomach instead of different stomachs.

[–] MDCCCLV@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They don't have the mass to have multiple stomachs like a proper cow

[–] Comment105@lemm.ee 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I always knew shit eating grins were misunderstood. They were just happy about being efficient.

[–] DeathsEmbrace@lemm.ee 1 points 1 month ago

You could say they were coprophappygia?

[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

Yes and no. Chewing cud only involves the first stomach for cows, since they just need to regurgitate it. It doesn't pass to the later stomachs until the grass is sufficiently broken down

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