🐋 Whale
Also known as: blue whale, whale milk
The milk is thick, with 35–50% fat. The calf drinks it right in the water.
Whales are mammals, and a mother whale nurses her calf with milk right in the water. Her nipples are hidden in skin folds on either side of the genital slit; the calf swims up and the mother squirts milk to it in short bursts. The milk is very thick — it has been compared to toothpaste — so it does not dissolve in seawater.
In large baleen whales the milk is, by various estimates, 35–50% fat. This lets the calf put on weight and a protective layer of blubber very quickly. In the blue whale, the largest animal on Earth, pregnancy lasts about 10–12 months, and according to NOAA the calf is weaned at about 6–7 months, on the way to the summer feeding grounds.
Whale milk is not a food for humans: scientists study it to understand how marine mammals raise their young.
How it connects to milk
Links
- What milk it gives
- 🥛 Whale milk
- What it gives
- 🥛 Milk
- Feeds with milk
- 🍼 Whale calf
- Belongs to
- 🔬 Mammal
- What it contains
- 🧪 Milk fat
- Associated with
- 🥛 Milk
- Part of
- 🐾 Other mammals
Frequently asked questions
How does a whale calf drink milk underwater?
The mother squirts thick, fatty milk straight into the calf’s mouth, so it has no time to dissolve in the water.
How much fat is in whale milk?
In large baleen whales, about 35–50% fat by various estimates.
How long does a blue whale nurse its calf?
According to NOAA, the calf is weaned at about 6–7 months.
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