3 types of milk that you probably shouldn’t try
Did you know, fish can produce milk? Don’t forget to include hippopotamuses and and flamingos to this list too!
By Linda Luo
Did your teacher ever tell you as a kid that only mammals produce milk? Turn’s out, that’s not true. There’s so much more to animal parenting that not many are aware of. There’s more to flamingo parenting than giving birth to chicken like chicks and squeaking at each other. Fish don’t always just lay their eggs and swim away or die right after they lay eggs. Hippopotamuses don’t just carry their calves in their mouth and give each other throat massages with their heads.
1. Flamingo milk
Flamingos are wading birds that live near lakes and lagoons. They are mainly known for their distinct colour, standing on one leg, and their signature, long necks. These pink fluffy birds are widely distributed throughout the world and are often seen in zoos. They can fly, walk and swim but most captive flamingos have their wings clipped so they don’t fly away. When flamingos lactate, the milk is secreted from their upper digestion tract so it often looks like the baby is eating out of their parents’ head. Both male and female flamingos lactate and their chicks are feed until they are around 3 months old. The milk comes from the food that is stored in the alimentary canal (a pouch where food is stored before digestion) and contains antioxidants and antibodies that are essential to the growing chicks.
Aren’t flamingos birds though?
Contrary to popular belief, many birds can lactate. Birds like penguins, pigeons and doves all produce a substance called crop milk. Though crop milk has varied characteristics and comes from different parts of the body depending on the species, all crop milk is meant to feed baby birds. Unlike human milk, it does not contain calcium and carbohydrates. Instead, they are high in fat and protein.
Why does flamingo milk look like blood?
Whereas normal milk is usually white or light beige, flamingo milk is red. It is astonishingly similar to blood and humans often mistakenly believe that the flamingos are fighting each other. The reason flamingo milk is red is that their diet, blue-green algae and brine shrimps contain a pigment called canthaxanthin. Similar to the pigment in carrots and tomatoes, it’s the same pigment that makes flamingos pink. Consequently, flamingo parents turn paler as they start to feed their chicks. One can think of their milking process as transferring their colour. The chicks are born white or grey and the canthaxanthin from their milk is stored in their livers and transfers to their feathers as they grow. To conclude, next time you want a good tan, try eating some carrots. After all, you are what you eat!
2. Discus fish milk
Discus fish’s lactation is naturally triggered after they lay their eggs and it comes oozing out onto their skin, coating it with a layer of “milk.”
As one of the only fish on the planet that nurtures their offsprings, the Discus fish is truly extraordinary. Native to the Amazon river basin, these shiny, colourful and seemingly happy fish are usually a staple for both public and home aquariums. Not only do Discus fish look amazing, they actually can produce a slimy substance that can be classified as milk all over its skin and fins. This white mucus-like liquid contains proteins and antibodies that are highly beneficial for young Discus fish.
Fish parenting
Many studies suspect that both females and males lactate, similar to flamingos. When ‘nursing’ their children the young fishes swim up to their body and start eating from there before moving onto the other parent after 5 to 10 minutes. After the second week, their parents start to swim away for periods of time, making them start to develop independence and survival skill before eventually, after a month, the parents can move on for good and hope their children won’t get eaten.
3. Hippopotamus milk
As the only mammal on the list, what could be different about hippo milk? Hippopotamuses are one of the largest animals that exist in the modern-day world and usually weigh around 3500 pounds. These highly aggressive beasts are native to sub-Saharan Africa where they kill more than 500 humans each year. As a result, there haven’t been any records of humans drinking from hippos since no one has been able to get ahold of a nursing hippo. Nevertheless, the future is unknown, maybe one day it’ll be a staple supermarket item.
Why pink?
Hippopotamuses have pink milk. More specifically, they produce white milk but it is dyed a bright pink colour as it comes out. This is when we introduce the new, amazing hippopotamuses equivalent of sunscreen! Norhipposudoric acid and Hipposudoric acid are bright red and orange acids that kill bacteria on the hippo’s skin and absorbs UV rays. Not only do these acids protect the hippopotamuses from the hot African sun, but they also dye their milk pink.
Baby hippos get to drink this pink milk for up to a year. At birth, it is all they are able to consume. Interestingly, hippopotamus calves get their first sip of milk underwater. Because they are born underwater, they usually swim up for air as soon as they are born. After, the baby comes back down under the surface of the water and starts to suck on their mother’s teats. Like any other mammalian milk, hippopotamus milk contains calcium and phosphorus that are important for babies. Around a month old, they will be able to eat grass. Eventually, after a year, the mother will run out of milk and the calf will be able to sustain itself on grass alone.
And… that’s three strange types of milk for you!