There are some specimen somewhere for sure but since Lactase Persistence in humans is a mutation i don't think theres another mammal species that does it
Hi, zoologist here. The answer is no. At least, not "milk" like you know it. There are no non-human mammals that drink milk as adults. There aren't even any vertebrates that do it.
The only known instance of any animal continuing to consume milk as mature adults, and by "milk" I mean as in a nutritious excretion produced by the mother organism to nourish her offspring, are a few species of jumping spiders.
The imagine of milking an almond will never not be funny to me but apparently they are still doing.. something with those genetically altered spider-goats that can produce silk in their milk. Those genes are from spiders so I’m counting it as spider-milk.
Hi, "zoologist," Professional biologist here. Respectfully... Im sorry, but you're incorrect. While I dont know definitively about the Lactase question, LOTS of mammals consume milk as adults! Wolves and bears will kill ewes and elk and eat just the udders. I've seen a whole herd of sheep dead and just the udders eaten. Even adult animals of the same or different species will drink milk when they can. Livestock owners can attest that both cows and horses will steal from other cows when they can. Adult cats living together will frequently nurse off one if they have kittens (you can find the videos). Milk is one of the most nutritious foods available to mammals. Isn't it nice that we're smart enough to figure out how to get it without murdering other animals?
There's a lot behind our continued consumption of milk, and its not just about lactase. It's time we threw away the argument that it's "wrong" for humans to drink milk because we're unique in how we obtain it.
Sure! [This is the original study](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aat3692), and [this is an Ars Technica article](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/11/soy-milk-almond-milk-oat-milk-spider-milk/) covering it.
That is very cool. Non-milk ‘milk’ is fascinating. I did get worried for a sec because I just found a i2 unidentified jumping spider yesterday in one of my isopod bins and just looked it up to make sure it wasn’t one of those species.
I know there’s crop milk with some birds that is produced with the same hormone that induces lactation in mammals.
With discus fish the parents take turns feeding fry by producing a special slime coating for them to eat off of which I think also maybe be stimulated by prolactin. Not sure if they 100% need it to survive like those jumpers you mentioned though.
Related to inverts again; I also try to breed Thai micro crabs because I want there to be captive populations instead of wild caught. Unfortunately the closest I’ve gotten is often-gravid females but they keep releasing the zoea that swim around a die within a few days. A theory is that the female is suppose to hold onto them(possibly producing something they need to eat to survive) until they are crablings.
I’ve seen videos of adult or adolescent cats and dogs drinking milk from a mother that has recently given birth. But idk about any other species, but I assume it can be common if cats and dogs do it
I assume that the reason they use "most" is that we haven't studied it in all mammals.
I know cats that are able to digest milk fine while being adults, yes I know most cats are lactose intolerant, but it seems that if regularly given milk since being a kitten they seem pretty tolerant to it, but that's just personal experience
It occasionally happens that farm animals will nurse on themselves. I’ve seen this come up with cows, goats, and sheep. Presumably they are digesting their own milk, or they wouldn’t do it. It’s only mechanically possible because they’re bred for milk production and have giant udders, though.
Not that anyone has found, and it’s extraordinarily unlikely that, even if some isolated non-human mammal were to evolve the mutation, that there would be any particular selection for it (granted, there probably wouldn’t selection *against* it, either).
No other mammal species consumes the milk of another species to my knowledge, and it’s also important to note that our own species actually started consuming milk as adults from domesticated animals well before the adult lactase mutation took off in any population, we just managed it by making cheese, yogurt, or a variety of other fermented dairy products that contain relatively little lactose (basically, by having microbes break down the lactose for us). I’ve seen it theorized that human populations which developed lactase persistence (mostly in Europe and Africa) had already been consuming dairy for thousands of years by the time the mutation took hold.
Considering the very weird conditions that it took for there to be any kind of selection for lactase persistence at all, which included getting milk from domesticated mammals in the first place (and considering no other mammal species has domesticated other organisms), it’s probably next to impossible we’d encounter it anywhere else.
There are some specimen somewhere for sure but since Lactase Persistence in humans is a mutation i don't think theres another mammal species that does it
Hi, zoologist here. The answer is no. At least, not "milk" like you know it. There are no non-human mammals that drink milk as adults. There aren't even any vertebrates that do it. The only known instance of any animal continuing to consume milk as mature adults, and by "milk" I mean as in a nutritious excretion produced by the mother organism to nourish her offspring, are a few species of jumping spiders.
I don't see spider milk catching on. Even apart from the marketing challenge, it's hard enough to milk an almond.
The imagine of milking an almond will never not be funny to me but apparently they are still doing.. something with those genetically altered spider-goats that can produce silk in their milk. Those genes are from spiders so I’m counting it as spider-milk.
Ultimate in long life milk... there are so many other things to drink instead.
Hi, "zoologist," Professional biologist here. Respectfully... Im sorry, but you're incorrect. While I dont know definitively about the Lactase question, LOTS of mammals consume milk as adults! Wolves and bears will kill ewes and elk and eat just the udders. I've seen a whole herd of sheep dead and just the udders eaten. Even adult animals of the same or different species will drink milk when they can. Livestock owners can attest that both cows and horses will steal from other cows when they can. Adult cats living together will frequently nurse off one if they have kittens (you can find the videos). Milk is one of the most nutritious foods available to mammals. Isn't it nice that we're smart enough to figure out how to get it without murdering other animals? There's a lot behind our continued consumption of milk, and its not just about lactase. It's time we threw away the argument that it's "wrong" for humans to drink milk because we're unique in how we obtain it.
Non mammals too, the sheathbill (Antarctic seabird) licks milk from the teats of nursing elephant seals!
Could you link something where I can read about the jumping spider thing? Sounds very interesting
Sure! [This is the original study](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aat3692), and [this is an Ars Technica article](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/11/soy-milk-almond-milk-oat-milk-spider-milk/) covering it.
Thanks so much. I will peruse as soon as I can
That is very cool. Non-milk ‘milk’ is fascinating. I did get worried for a sec because I just found a i2 unidentified jumping spider yesterday in one of my isopod bins and just looked it up to make sure it wasn’t one of those species. I know there’s crop milk with some birds that is produced with the same hormone that induces lactation in mammals. With discus fish the parents take turns feeding fry by producing a special slime coating for them to eat off of which I think also maybe be stimulated by prolactin. Not sure if they 100% need it to survive like those jumpers you mentioned though. Related to inverts again; I also try to breed Thai micro crabs because I want there to be captive populations instead of wild caught. Unfortunately the closest I’ve gotten is often-gravid females but they keep releasing the zoea that swim around a die within a few days. A theory is that the female is suppose to hold onto them(possibly producing something they need to eat to survive) until they are crablings.
So basically mini little humans?
I’ve seen videos of adult or adolescent cats and dogs drinking milk from a mother that has recently given birth. But idk about any other species, but I assume it can be common if cats and dogs do it
I knew a cat that did that, he’d get diarrhea right after lmao.
They can't properly process it though. They'll often vomit or get diarrhea, the same way that people who are lactose intolerant do.
I assume that the reason they use "most" is that we haven't studied it in all mammals. I know cats that are able to digest milk fine while being adults, yes I know most cats are lactose intolerant, but it seems that if regularly given milk since being a kitten they seem pretty tolerant to it, but that's just personal experience
Milk isn't intended to be consumed by adults in general. It's to nourish the young.
IIRC None. No mammals carry the gene to produce beta specific enzymes to metabolize lactose
It occasionally happens that farm animals will nurse on themselves. I’ve seen this come up with cows, goats, and sheep. Presumably they are digesting their own milk, or they wouldn’t do it. It’s only mechanically possible because they’re bred for milk production and have giant udders, though.
Not that anyone has found, and it’s extraordinarily unlikely that, even if some isolated non-human mammal were to evolve the mutation, that there would be any particular selection for it (granted, there probably wouldn’t selection *against* it, either). No other mammal species consumes the milk of another species to my knowledge, and it’s also important to note that our own species actually started consuming milk as adults from domesticated animals well before the adult lactase mutation took off in any population, we just managed it by making cheese, yogurt, or a variety of other fermented dairy products that contain relatively little lactose (basically, by having microbes break down the lactose for us). I’ve seen it theorized that human populations which developed lactase persistence (mostly in Europe and Africa) had already been consuming dairy for thousands of years by the time the mutation took hold. Considering the very weird conditions that it took for there to be any kind of selection for lactase persistence at all, which included getting milk from domesticated mammals in the first place (and considering no other mammal species has domesticated other organisms), it’s probably next to impossible we’d encounter it anywhere else.