- Wombats live mostly alone and are active at night.
- They leave poop in shared places called latrines.
- Their poop is square in shape, not round.
- Square poop does not roll down hills or slopes.
- Wombats often put poop near logs and rocks.
- Wombats have a strong sense of smell.
- The poop carries different chemical smells for each animal.
- Other wombats come and sniff the poop for information.
- Researchers moved poop and watched with cameras nearby.
- This shows poop may help wombats to communicate.
Difficult words
- latrine — a shared place where animals leave their pooplatrines
- square — having four equal straight sides and corners
- slope — land that goes up or downslopes
- sniff — to smell something with the nose
- chemical — a substance that has a special smell or effect
- communicate — to send or get information between animals
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you like animals that are active at night?
- Have you ever seen animal poop in nature?
- Do you use your nose to smell things?
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