Scat can contain curious items, including a researcher's bootlaces! Credit: Carolyn Hogg

I never thought my shoelaces would get stolen.

As a wildlife researcher, I'm used to early alarms and long days out in the field. But one morning, before my team headed out to trap and monitor Tasmanian devils, I woke up to find my boots destroyed and stripped of their laces.

It didn't take us long to find the culprit. In a trap not far from our campsite sat a cheeky older devil—and her scat that had several inches of shoelace curled up in it.

Scat is the scientific term for wild animal poop. Scat comes in all shapes and sizes , from the cube-like droppings of wombats to the tiny round pellets that rabbits leave behind.

Studying scat may help identify a shoelace thief, but it is also a vital part of species conservation. Let's unpack why.

A Tasmanian devil scat specimen that is about the size of a permanent marker.…