🥛 Seal milk
The fattiest milk known.
Seal milk is the milk of female seals, with which they feed their pups. Seal milk holds the record for fat among known types of milk. According to a review by Avery and Zinn (2023), the fat content of pinniped milk ranges from 25 to 60%, while it contains only about 35–65% water and on average about 11% protein. By comparison, cow’s and human milk contain about 4% fat.
The most striking example is the hooded seal (Cystophora cristata). Its lactation lasts only about 4 days — the shortest of any mammal. During this time the pup drinks about 10 litres of milk a day at about 60% fat and gains roughly 7 kg daily, mostly as blubber. The mother does not eat during this period and draws on her own reserves.
True seals generally nurse their pups briefly and intensively, on ice or on shore, while sea lions and fur seals alternate nursing with trips to sea, and their lactation lasts months or even years. The rich milk lets the pup build up, in just a few days, the layer of fat it needs to live in cold water.
Composition per 100 g
| Fat | 53.2 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 11.2 g | |
| Lactose | 2.6 g | |
| Energy | 534 kcal | |
| Calcium | no data |
Average values. Values vary a lot with breed, season, feed and stage of lactation. The bar shows the share of the maximum within this group of milks.
Sources: Zhang et al. 2018 (по Jensen 1995)
How it connects to milk
🥛 Seal milk → type of → 🥛 Milk
Links
- Whose milk
- 🦭 Seal
- A type of
- 🥛 Milk
- Part of
- 🔬 Milk of other animals
Frequently asked questions
Which animal has the fattiest milk?
Seals: hooded seal milk reaches about 60% fat, and pinniped milk in general ranges from 25 to 60%.
How long do seals nurse their pups?
In hooded seals only about 4 days; in other seals usually several weeks, and in sea lions and walruses months or years.
Similar
🥛 Llama milk · 🥛 Alpaca milk · 🥛 Musk ox milk · 🥛 Pig milk · 🥛 Elephant milk · 🥛 Polar bear milk
ℹ️ Dairy products contain lactose and milk proteins: if you are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk protein, ask a doctor.