Scats (animal faeces) are important to researchers. From tigers to tortoises, badgers to bats and whales to weasels, scats inform us of diet and distribution, and can help with conservation. Some researchers have trained dogs to detect the scent of scats from endangered species and, using the data collected when the scats are analysed, can estimate the numbers and movements of that species, as DNA is contained in sloughed-off cells in the scat.
Similarly, animals’ microbiomes are carried with the scat, as well as physical leftovers, including DNA from items in their diet. Monitoring scats for hormones that indicate stress, fertility, disease and parasite load have been developed as non-invasive methods. These are useful for monitoring the effects of environmental pressures on many species, for example tigers.
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