# Kangaroo baby excrements

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-baby-excrements/147491>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 9, 2003, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-baby-excrements/147491 "2003-01-09T10:16:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-baby-excrements/147491/21 "2003-01-10T11:24:36Z")

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Staying on the sidetrack, that’s now two animals whose young eat adult feces in order to create a bacteria culture capable of digesting their normal diets: the kangaroo (mentioned by reprise) and the koala (mentioned by Mangetout). Any more? All marsupials, perhaps, or just cute Australian ones?

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-baby-excrements/147491/22 "2003-01-10T11:32:37Z")

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I know rabbits eat their own feces too, but that may be primarily to reclaim more nutrients on the second pass, rather than to acquire gut bacteria.

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**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kangaroo-baby-excrements/147491/23 "2003-01-11T00:48:28Z")

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Wombats certainly eat adult faeces to acquire gut bacteria. The wildlife rescue services make such a big deal of it that I assumed it applies to all marsupials.

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