How do whale calves suckle and drink milk without losing it all in the sea?
Posted by PuzzleheadedWeb1466@reddit | whales | View on Reddit | 45 comments
I've been wondering about this for a long time. Other mammals don't really have this problem, but marine mammals have to drink liquid in liquid... I know there's some kind of slit, but how does it stay “watertight” enough to avoid diluting and spoiling the l
Medusaink3@reddit
I think the milk is thick so it kind of just sticks together as the calf suckles. Hopefully a marine biologist will chime in with an actual answer. lol
FancyyPelosi@reddit
Marine biologist on the internet here; they actually use lactation caves where cows can feed their calves in a private setting. Since they’re mammals there’s just air in the cave so no big deal.
Historical_Fold_9946@reddit
Tell that the caves are not also toilets.
KillionMatriarch@reddit
You forgot the /s
FancyyPelosi@reddit
I wanted to leave a modicum of mystery.
SignificantYou3240@reddit
Wait what
Aurora-Myrsky@reddit
*the calf doesn't suckle! The female squirts it into the calf's mouth
glorious_onion@reddit
This study on whale milk found that the viscosity of whale milk was too high to measure and the researchers had to dilute it dour fold with distilled water to chart its viscosity. It was also too viscid to measure surface tension until it was diluted. The amount of solid substances in the whale milk were four times what was found in cow or human milk and it had a lower water content than the comparator milks. The milk apparently tastes like cod oil.
So at least part of the answer seems to be that whale milk is extremely thick and viscous.
paintingporcelain@reddit
Who tasted it? Like “Yeah man, pass me the bowl. I’ll give it a shot.”
ggGamergirlgg@reddit
If I learned something about scientists, it's that they wanna lick every. damn. thing.
(As long as it belongs to their field of interest)
Wonderful_Ad_5911@reddit
They also like to let things bite them. Absolutely hating learning that bedbug scientists sometimes feed their charges
A_Stony_Shore@reddit
Look at Quentin over here trying to be a scientist
reggae_muffin@reddit
Can confirm. I’m a scientist and I’d have tasted whale milk because… why not?
No-Height-8732@reddit
In my science career and schooling, the only thing not normally eaten by people that I've tasted/licked was a chunk of potash.
I'm not adventurous like that, I'm a fussy eater. Some of my colleagues would probably taste it if the opportunity came along. We scientists are a curious bunch.
Bug_Photographer@reddit
TIL my bug and spider interest hasn't reached scientific levels yet.
Paleodraco@reddit
William Buckland and some other early paleontologists and naturalists had a club all about eating exotic animals. There's a story about them visiting someone who owned King Louis XIV heart and Bucklabd eating it. The story is probably not true, but the fact it exists attest to how wacky he was.
jjcoolel@reddit
It’s gotta be healthy. And fattening.
ssgg1122@reddit
r/milk
glatts@reddit
Yeah, when I swam with some humpbacks in Tonga we were told it’s like a yogurt in terms of consistency.
beanieon@reddit
Do you know Vlad
Paleodraco@reddit
I know the tests they used are gonna have certain parameters, but if your viscosity tests don't work maybe just classify it as the only solid or semi solid milk.
Laughorcryliveordie@reddit
I want to know who collected the samples. “You can milk anything…!”
glorious_onion@reddit
God, I wish it were just some weirdo diver out there milking whales.
It’s a study from a Tokyo medical school and it says the milk was collected from nursing female fin whales killed by Japanese whalers.
Laughorcryliveordie@reddit
😭😭😭 that’s terrible
SignificantYou3240@reddit
Orca trainers at Sea World is what you’re looking for…
PuzzleheadedWeb1466@reddit (OP)
Thank you, mystery solved
SignificantYou3240@reddit
It is really thick, like toothpaste, I think.
But fishier and less minty I’m guessing.
vitringur@reddit
The milk is very sweet and rich; it has been tasted by man; it might do well with strawberries.
BoofusDewberry@reddit
Mmmmm, whale ice cream.
SignificantYou3240@reddit
Orca milk was reported to taste like fish.
It is very very rich though.
Stairwayunicorn@reddit
iirc it has the consistency of toothpaste
Think-Departure-5054@reddit
You know they aren’t even drinking straight from a teet right? I know for whales they kinda just shoot out some milk and it’s basically like a “here catch this” kind of thing.
cjthepossum@reddit
Lips
MyFaceSaysItsSugar@reddit
Suction. It’s the same way astronauts drink. It’s basically food in a tube. But this is also how many adult whales, dolphins, porpoises and walruses eat. Walruses suck the clam out of the shell. Belugas and porpoises will suck fish and other critters out of hidey holes.
checkitbec@reddit
It’s like cottage cheese! I demonstrated how it works for some kiddos. I had a glass of water, some milk, and a bottle of ketchup. I dropped some of the milk into the water to show how it dilutes and goes everywhere. Then I squeezed some ketchup into the water to show how the ketchup stayed together.
Rat-Loser@reddit
There's a few things at play. As you mentioned the mother whale has her mammary glands hidden within slits. They also have quite powerful muscles around their mammary glands which they use to squirt their milk into the calves mouth. The calf doesn't do any suckling action because of this, they instead guide the milk with their tongue while keeping somewhat of a seal on the glad. Whale milk is also incredibly thick, think toothpaste thick, and as such doesn't mix easily with the sea water. Nursing sessions are very quick and efficient. All of these factors compound allowing the calves to feed effectively without waste.
BaldeepKhack@reddit
To add to this, juveniles have fringes on the outside of their tongue that wrap around and seal around the mother’s mammary gland. It’s kinda like a funnel.
SignificantYou3240@reddit
It that why orcas are so good at doing that silly tongue-fold thing?
BaldeepKhack@reddit
That’s a great question! TBH with you I’m not sure but I like the thought process. Maybe someone with more knowledge can chime in.
SignificantYou3240@reddit
Well I scrolled and immediately saw confirmation kinda.
PuzzleheadedWeb1466@reddit (OP)
Thank you for the explanation
Born_Structure1182@reddit
Thank you for asking this because I e always wondered too.
PuzzleheadedWeb1466@reddit (OP)
You're welcome
ZakA77ack@reddit
Calves roll their tongues into a tube and place it up against the nipple, the mother then squirts her toothpaste thick milk into the calves tongue tube.
Tokihome_Breach6722@reddit
It’s very thick, over 50% butterfat, and females are able to forcefully squirt the milk into their babies’ curled tongues so there’s very little loss. It’s another exquisite adaptation to life in the ocean.