Dung Beetles versus Scientists

Who thought an insect would compete with researchers!

Meet the latest wild animal to outsmart scientists: the Dung Beetle! While on a recent field visit to Maharashtra’s Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve over an upcoming assignment for the Maharashtra Forest Department, I learned from my friend and field biologist Ms. Prajakta Hushangabadkar, that dung beetles were posing a bit of a problem in her research! Prajakta is a part of the team working on the herbivore dung sampling project, conducted by Dr. Uma Ramakrishnan’s lab at NCBS Bangalore. Collecting fresh droppings of wild herbivores like Sambar and Gaur is critical for her research, but more often than not, the dung beetles beat her to it!

The cartoon appears in my column with Roundglass Sustain. To know more about how dung beetles roll, read this poster on Green Humour.

Special thanks to Prajakta for guiding me on the field visit and for sharing this hilarious anecdote with me. I am sure this is one case of ‘man-animal-conflict’ that we wildlife enthusiasts would not mind!