In the absence of information I’m going to go ahead and suggest that they get the bacteria by scraping their teeth along tree bark until the right bacteria gets picked up
Elephants and Koalas both aren’t ruminants but eat mostly leaves so there’s usually plenty of only partly digested plant material in their stool. I don’t think elephants technically need to do this though (unlike some smaller animals like rabbits which eat their own shit as an important part of their digestion process).
In the absence of information I’m going to go ahead and suggest that they get the bacteria by scraping their teeth along tree bark until the right bacteria gets picked up
Close! Actually they eat their mother’s shit.
Thank you! Annoyed by the lack of information elsewhere in the thread
3 koalas 1 cup
Eat shit and thrive
Elephants will eat each other’s shit. I’ve seen an elephant reach onto another’s anus and pull out some delicious shit to eat.
Elephants and Koalas both aren’t ruminants but eat mostly leaves so there’s usually plenty of only partly digested plant material in their stool. I don’t think elephants technically need to do this though (unlike some smaller animals like rabbits which eat their own shit as an important part of their digestion process).
Maybe it’s more social. A little fisting among friends, if you will.
I think they do it for the gut bacteria, but I’m not an elephant gut ologist.