It will be a giant step for mankind when we recognise sewage as a valuable resource worth utilizing as a source of plant nutrients and a source of energy. The excreta of all animals are a valuable part in the cycle of nutrients and energy in the ecosystem. The droppings of all animals are food for various organisms including fungi and a multitude of small animals which recycle the nutrients back to the soil where it is available once more for the green plants. We can learn a lot about the ecosystem if we observe the droppings of the different animals that are in the bush. The droppings of animals in the field is often the only evidence we have of the presence of those animals.
Many Australian animals are shy, hiding when humans make their presence felt.
Each type of animal has its own characteristic excreta. The drawings of droppings are just a rough guide line because the size and shape of the droppings of any one species is not neatly standardised but varies greatly depending on the age of the animal, the condition of the feed and the burden of intestinal worms carried by the animal. All the herbivores - the kangaroo family, the introduced rabbits, hares, cows, sheep, horses, goats and pigs produce droppings containing plant materials of varying consistency. Rabbits and hares chew their food more finely than other larger animals. Rabbits use their dung to mark their territory and big piles of dung represent the territorial marker of a dominant buck.