WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU DUNG...MAKE LIKE AN AFRICAN DUNG BEETLE

One of my favorite animals from our safari in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana has been the African Dung Beetle. These little critters are not only astonishing…they’re downright inspirational.

The next time life hands you dung (and who doesn’t get dung coming their way every now and then?), consider the lessons taught to us by African Dung Beetles, who spend a lifetime dealing with dung, and do it successfully.

WHEN DEALING WITH DUNG…

CONTRIBUTE TO THE GREATER GOOD BY CARRYING MORE THAN YOUR WEIGHT. African Dung Beetles are the strongest insects on earth—and, in fact, are the the strongest pound-for-pound animal on earth. Some of them can pull up to 1,142 times their weight – – the equivalent of a human being pushing six double-decker buses full of people. They roll balls of dung many, many times larger than they are (see video).

KNOW YOUR PURPOSE—AND KNOW YOUR SKILLS AND TALENTS. There are three kinds of dung beetles—rollers, tunnelers and dwellers. Each has a vital role—the rollers move the dung, the tunnelers create an appropriate place to put the dung, and the dwellers create a safe place for everyone during all that activity.

WHEN DARKNESS FALLS AND YOU’RE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR WAY, LOOK HEAVENWARD. Dung beetles possess excellent night vision. In fact, several dung beetle species can navigate using the light from clusters of stars in the Milky Way, a trait unique among insects.

STAY CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT YOU. Dung beetles operate in family units, with males and females working together to build nests. Some even mate for life.

IF YOU FIND YOURSELF PUSHING A LOT OF, WELL…DUNG, TRY TO FIND A SILVER LINING. Young beetles stand on top of their dung balls during the hot African days to cool off.

WHILE YOU’RE PUSHING ALL THAT DUNG, REMEMBER THAT YOU MIGHT BE SAVING SOMEONE ELSE FROM ITS NEGATIVE EFFECTS. Dung beetles are environmental superheroes. The process of aerating, burying, and mixing the dung with the soil helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as methane. Some studies also suggest that dung beetles help to lower the populations of disease-carrying flies, as their removal of the dung gives the flies less of a food source.

(Source of facts about dung beetles: https://a-z-animals.com/.../10-incredible-dung-beetle-facts/)

In short? When faced with a mountain of dung, perhaps the best thing to do is make like the dung beetle, and just roll with it. At the end of the (dung beetle) tunnel, there could actually be some positive outcomes.

Video I took of A Dung beetle pushing a dung ball (while its mate rides along to add more material to the ball) at Chobe National Park in Botswana.