7 animals and insects that eat their own poop (or someone else’s) – and what science says about it

It sounds like one of those facts you’d immediately Google just to confirm it’s real. But yes, some animals really do eat poop – their own, or sometimes someone else’s.

Before it gets written off as “gross behaviour,” there’s a catch: in nature, very little happens without a reason. And in several cases, this habit is less about disgust and more about survival, nutrition, and biology quietly doing its thing.

Here are 7 animals that do it – and why it’s not as random as it sounds.
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Images: Canva (for representative purposes only)

Rabbits don’t exactly believe in “waste.” They produce two types of droppings, and one of them goes straight back in.

Why? Because the first round of digestion doesn’t extract everything. The second round completes the job – especially for nutrients their bodies still need.

It’s less “eating poop” and more “reprocessing nutrition.”

Baby elephants sometimes eat their mother’s dung early in life. It may sound shocking, but this is actually how they start building the gut bacteria needed to digest plants later.

Think of it as an introductory course to adulthood – just nature’s version is a little unconventional.

Koala babies don’t just jump into eucalyptus leaves. Those leaves are toxic and extremely hard to digest.

So instead, they rely on a special substance called “pap” from their mother’s droppings, which slowly prepares their system for that tough diet.

In simple terms, it’s survival training, one bite at a time.

Hamsters are not regular “habitual” poop-eaters, but they do it occasionally. Mostly, when food is limited, the body tries to recover whatever nutrients are still left in the waste.

It’s not a preference. It’s in backup mode.

Rats and mice are built for survival in almost any condition. And yes, that includes sometimes eating feces to recover nutrients or maintain gut bacteria balance.

Nothing dramatic here – just nature’s efficiency at work.

Unlike others on this list, dung beetles don’t hesitate or “sometimes” do it – they depend on it. They feed on dung, roll it into balls, and even use it to lay eggs.

For them, what we call waste is basically food, shelter, and future generation all in one.

Guinea pigs produce soft droppings that they re-eat to absorb nutrients like vitamin B.

Without this second digestion, their body actually misses out on essential nutrition.

So yes – it’s not optional for them. It’s part of staying healthy.