These animal poops are really amazing, they can be eaten, drunk and used as medicine!

Although feces are smelly and dirty, they are the metabolic products of normal animal physiological activities. No matter how delicious the food is, after "traveling" through the animal's digestive system, it will eventually become feces. However, have you ever thought about what unknown functions animal feces have besides being smelly? They may be one of the most low-key but very important components of the ecosystem, with various unexpected functions. The following are some of the "weird" uses of animal feces.

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1. Sitting and eating "shit"

Most mammals excrete feces and urine separately. However, many other animals, such as birds, only have one cloaca, so feces and urine are combined into one. Most feces contain organic matter and nutrients needed by plants. After fermentation and decomposition, they become high-quality fertilizers. Due to the food source and habits of birds, bird droppings are rich in phosphorus, which is an essential nutrient for plant growth.

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There is a very small island country in the South Pacific called Nauru. The country has a population of only about 10,000 people, and its land area is only 21.1 square kilometers, which is equivalent to 1/4000 the size of Chongqing. Although the country is small, it is a rare place for migrating seabirds to settle down. Over time, the seabirds have left a thick layer of guano on the island, which is the highest-grade phosphate ore in the world. Nauru once relied on exporting guano to become a wealthy country. Unfortunately, no matter how much guano there is, it will be mined out one day. Today, Nauru's guano resources have been exhausted and the country is facing a financial crisis.

2. Turn feces into food

Since animals do not absorb all the nutrients in food into their bodies during the digestion process, feces contain a lot of nutrients. And because it passes through the animal's intestines, it is equivalent to "rough processing" of food, so feces may also become food again.

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Koalas, also known as koala bears, are unique animals in Australia. Their main food is eucalyptus leaves, but eucalyptus leaves are toxic to most animals, including koalas. With the help of microorganisms, adult koalas can gradually master the ability to decompose eucalyptus leaves. But for newborn koala babies, they can't eat eucalyptus leaves directly. At this stage, the mother koala will excrete some special feces from the cloaca. The reason why these feces are special is that they contain a large number of microorganisms and semi-digested eucalyptus leaves. When these microorganisms enter the intestines of the baby koala, they can help decompose the toxins in the eucalyptus leaves, allowing the koala to better digest the eucalyptus leaves. "I raised you with shit and urine", only the mother koala can bear this old saying.

Some animals, such as common dogs, rabbits or pigs, also eat their own feces under certain circumstances, mainly to fully recycle nutrients in the environment. Insects such as dung beetles, beetles, and earthworms directly use other animals' feces as their main food, so they also play an irreplaceable role in the ecosystem.

Smart humans have long noticed the value of feces. In ancient my country, many southern regions had an ecological agricultural model called "mulberry-based fish ponds". The ancients produced silk by planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms, and the feces produced by silkworms became fish food. The fish feces sank to the bottom of the pond and became pond mud rich in humus, which became fertilizer for mulberry trees. This complementary thinking is regarded as the essence of ancient Chinese smart agriculture.

3. Unique flavor

Most feces have a bad smell, but some chemicals that produce the smell may become fragrant when their concentration changes. The feces of some animals also have a unique value because of their unique fragrance.

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The sperm whale is a huge whale in the deep sea, often appearing in waters more than one thousand meters deep. It mainly feeds on squid and deep-sea fish. After these foods enter the sperm whale's body, the sperm whale's intestines will secrete some substances to wrap them up. As time goes by, the accumulated secretions become more and more, and will eventually be excreted from the body. Due to long-term chemical reactions, the feces of sperm whales produce a unique aroma, and the ancients gave it a very nice name: "Ambergris". Its aroma is strong and soft, and it lasts for a long time. It was a very precious spice in ancient times. Of course, scientists have now figured out the composition of ambergris, so ambergris can also be made artificially.

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Coffee is a high-value cash crop. Around the 18th century, coffee was introduced to the islands of Sumatra and Java in Southeast Asia. On the islands lived a unique animal, the civet cat. These kitten-like animals occasionally ate coffee berries grown by local farmers. Soon people discovered that coffee beans that were not fully digested and excreted had a unique aroma. This was because the coffee beans fermented in the civet cat's stomach, producing some unique substances with a fragrance, and "cat feces coffee" became a local specialty.

However, the production of civet coffee is very small and the price is high. Many producers will use any means to force civets to eat coffee beans, so many animal protectionists call for a boycott of "cat poop coffee". However, inspired by this, some people in Thailand tried to feed coffee berries to elephants, and produced coffee beans with similar "processing methods". Elephants have a large appetite and poop a lot, so the production of "elephant dung coffee" can be guaranteed. Today, this product called "Black Ivory Coffee" has also become a new darling in the coffee market.

4. Make the most of everything

In addition to the uses described above, animal feces have many more unexpected uses. Yaks are unique animals on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. They are known as the "ship of the plateau" and are also the most important means of production for Tibetan herders. Dung cakes made from yak dung are the most important fuel for local herders. In the plateau area, due to the altitude and climate, there is a lack of fuel for heating in winter. Cow dung is not only easy to burn after drying, but also has no odor in low temperature environments, and even has a faint smell of grass. Cow dung cakes can be used for cooking, heating, and insulation. When applied to the walls of the house, they can also keep the house warm. Therefore, cow dung is not only a necessity for local people in Tibet, but also a symbol of wealth.

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Giant pandas are China's "national treasure". As a species of bear, they love to eat bamboo. Pandas have very limited ability to digest bamboo, so panda feces are rich in bamboo fiber, which is an indispensable raw material for papermaking. At present, some companies have used panda feces to make daily paper or paper panda souvenirs, achieving a "win-win" situation between humans and pandas. "Panda paper" has been strictly processed during the production process, so you don't need to worry about it having hygiene problems.

Although feces are not elegant, they will become precious when they exist for a long enough time. In some European countries, jewelry made of dinosaur feces fossils has appeared. Under the test of time, these former feces have become precious fossils. These fossils are bright in color and delicate in texture, and are often expensive. Although feces have a smell, they also have unique functions. It is an indispensable part of nature and a valuable resource brought by animals. So, what other uses of animal feces do you know? Welcome to discuss and exchange with us.

Source: Chongqing Science and Technology Museum

Author: Quasimodo at the Riverside, science popularizer.

Review experts: Huang He, Li Chunli, Xu Xiaoping

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