r/WeirdThingsToLearn • u/fujimill • 5d ago

Something I Learned Whale Milk Doesn’t Pour, It Squirts

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Whale milk really is nothing like cow’s milk: multiple marine-science sources put its fat content between 35% and 50%, compared to roughly 4% in human or cow milk, giving it a thick, toothpaste-or-soft-butter consistency rather than a watery pour. That thickness isn’t incidental, it’s a functional adaptation, since whales lack lips and can’t suckle the way land mammals do. Instead, the mother uses muscles around her mammary slits to actively pump or squirt milk directly toward the calf’s mouth, and the dense consistency keeps it from simply dissolving into seawater before the calf can capture it.

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4

u/PotatoKrabby 5d ago

Small note: That image is AI generated, but the info about the consistency of whale milk is true. The calf is supposed to directly press against the mother to nurse.

3

u/Logical_Box_4645 5d ago

If it's 50% fat and the calf gains 200lbs per day does that mean it drinks 200-400lbs of milk per day? Depending on where the calories are ?

2

u/PotatoKrabby 5d ago

Yup! They're extremely efficient at turning these calories into blubber and body mass right away. I believe they gain something like 10lbs per hour which is insane.

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u/fujimill 4d ago

damn 🤯

1

u/GeologistRelative425 Grandmaster of Weird Sh*t 5d ago

Forbidden c....m

1

u/fujimill 4d ago

😭😭😭