The wombat produces cube-shaped droppings, a feature linked to its segmented intestine.
Wombats are the only known animals that regularly produce naturally cube-shaped faeces. Their intestines contain areas with different wall thicknesses and muscle activity, which help shape the material as it dries and moves through the digestive tract.
Wombats commonly place these droppings on rocks, logs or other raised surfaces. The piles act as scent and territorial signals, so the unusual shape may help the pieces remain in place instead of rolling away.
The cubes are not formed in the anus, as is sometimes claimed. They are shaped inside the final section of the intestine before being expelled. Wombats are Australian marsupials, and their backward-facing pouches help keep soil away from developing young while the adults dig burrows.