Ebino K Y, Shutoh Y, Takahashi K W
Toxicology Division, Mitsukaido Laboratories, Ibaraki, Japan.
Jikken Dobutsu. 1993 Oct;42(4):611-3. doi: 10.1538/expanim1978.42.4_611.
The rabbit is a representative animal species that conducts coprophagy, i. e. the production and reingestion of soft feces. We, however, encountered a maternal rabbit eating its own hard feces. A detailed investigation was performed on coprophagy in the rabbit to elucidate whether rabbits actually reingest their own hard feces. It was found that young adult Japanese White rabbits reingested their hard, as well as soft, feces directly from the anus. It has been reported that rabbits reingest only soft feces because of their high nutritive content, but the present study demonstrates that rabbits also reingest their hard feces despite their low nutritive content. It seems possible that coprophagy may be initiated by the colonic or rectal wall expanding effects of the fecal material itself.
兔子是进行食粪行为的典型动物物种，即产生并重新摄取软粪。然而，我们遇到一只母兔在吃自己的硬粪。为了阐明兔子是否真的会重新摄取自己的硬粪，我们对兔子的食粪行为进行了详细调查。结果发现，年轻的成年日本白兔会直接从肛门重新摄取硬粪和软粪。据报道，兔子只重新摄取软粪是因为其营养成分高，但本研究表明，兔子也会重新摄取硬粪，尽管其营养成分低。食粪行为似乎有可能是由粪便本身对结肠或直肠壁的扩张作用引发的。
