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FYI: Some baby animals eat their mother’s poop

Not all young mammals transition from breast milk straight to solid food.

By Cheryl E PrestonPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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FYI: Some baby animals eat their mother’s poop
Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

There are some similarities between baby animals and young children. One is the fact that they all begin their lie sustained by milk. Human children transition from milk to soft baby food before eating meals from the table. I remember from when I was a child an older woman who chewed food then put it in her grandson's mouth because he did not yet have a full set of teeth. He could not chew solid food for himself and I don’t know why the family did not purchase baby food. In my opinion this was absolutely disgusting and I had not thought of it in decades until today.

My oldest grandson recently told me something that I was not familiar with and find to be far worse than putting chewed food into a child’s mouth. This, however, is related to the animal kingdom and not humans. My grandson was holding his brother’s Koala bear stuffed animal when he told me that baby Koalas eat their mother’s poop. He added that there are a number of other baby animals who go from their mother’s milk to eating her feces including elephants and hippos.

By Tobias Adam on Unsplash

It turns out there are quite a few mammals who feed on feces from their mothers or other animals in their herd prior to digesting solid food. This may sound pretty nasty to most humans, but the practice of eating poop, which is known as coprophagia (kop-ruh-fey-jee-uh), is pretty common in the animal kingdom. According to Bryan Amaral, senior curator of animal science at the Smithsonian National oo in Washington D.C., this is relatively normal within the animal kingdom. He says this practice actually helps these animals to access nutrients they were not able to digest earlier.

The idea of nutrients being in waste products does not sound very appetizing and human excrement can carry germs. I find it interesting that what might be harmful for people to eat is actually beneficial for many animals. I knew that some animals ate grass as medicine and dogs often ate their own vomit but this is the first I have heard about this feat of nature.

By Stefan Steinbauer on Unsplash

According to a 1991 review that was published in the journal The Cornell Veterinarian, there is a name that has been given to this phenomenon which is Coprophagia. This is a practice that is common in a number of animals. These include: lagomorphs (rabbits, hares, and pikas), rodents (mice, rats, moles, guinea pigs, hamster, naked mole rats, and chinchillas), mountain beavers, dogs, baby elephants, hippopotamus calves and nonhuman primates including gorillas, rhesus monkeys. and orangutans.

According to the American Kennel Club, these young animals eat feces to help populate their digestive systems with healthy bacteria that aids them with digestion. Puppies are said to often eat feces but usually outgrow this habit by the time they are nine months old. I've owned quite a few dogs during my lifetime and I do not ever remember any of them as puppies eating doggy doo. I realize it’s possible that it took place when I was not around.

By Jamie Haughton on Unsplash

The AKA says the pups may be copying their mothers who often eat the puppy poop soon after a litter is born. According to Live Science. this is part of a healthy diet for the animals. I don't recall seeing this with any of my pets either. I have to wonder how it is that animals do not get sick eating excrement. I suppose, if their digestive system is made to digest waste products then it won’t hurt them. After all koala bears eat pounds of eucalyptus leaves daily, even though the plant is toxic to humans and other animals. Even so, I m thankful to be a human who does not need to eat someone else's waste products.

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About the Creator

Cheryl E Preston

Cheryl is a widow who enjoys writing about current events, soap spoilers and baby boomer nostalgia. Tips are greatly appreciated.

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