Thursday, July 9, 2009

Animal Grossology: The Importance Of Poop

Part of our current Animal Grossology exhibit is all about animal feces. OK...it's all about animal poop. How to identify different kinds and how certain insects live in the stuff. Sure, it's a fun way for folks of all ages to learn more about animals, but is there a practical application for studying animal poop? Glad you asked. A recent article shows how researchers will be able to accurately count and assess tiger populations in India by identifying individual animals from the unique DNA signature found in their dung. It may be gross but it's fascinating. Take a look at →the article then stop by →Animal Grossology to learn even more!

2 comments:

Timótheos said...
This post has been removed by the author.
Timótheos said...

(I fixed the typo in my previous comment! I'll try again)

I guess that DNA testing of tiger feces could also help identify whom the tiger has eaten recently.