This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: I never thought my shoelaces would get stolen. As a wildlife researcher, I'm used to early alarms and long days out in the field.
But one morning, before my team headed out to trap and monitor Tasmanian devils, I woke up to find my boots destroyed and stripped of their laces. It didn't take us long to find the culprit. In a trap not far from our campsite sat a cheeky older devil—and her scat that had several inches of shoelace curled up in it.
Scat is the scientific term for wild animal poop. Scat comes in all shapes and sizes, from the cube-like droppings of wombats to the tiny round pellets that rabbits leave behind. Studying scat may help identify a shoelace thief, but it is also a vital part of species conservation.
While conducting research into the diet of Tasmanian devils, we have spent countless hours searching for scat to pull it apart and study its contents. Traditionally, researchers find scat by conducting systematic grid searches. This involves setting up transects, a type of narrow path, that stretch across a study area and allow scientists to pick up any scat they see.
More recently, researchers have enlisted the help of scat-detection dogs. With their millions of olfactory receptors—the reason for dogs' superior sense of smell—these dogs are trained to sniff out scat. In one study, these dogs found about 53% more koala scat than their human counterparts.
But why are researchers searching for scat in the first place? Scat is a waste product that most people would steer clear of. But for scientists, scat is a rich reservoir of information, particularly about our most vulnerable animals.
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