# Animal and Human Male Breast Warts/Nipples **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 22, 2009, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-and-human-male-breast-warts-nipples/486936 "2009-02-22T11:29:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2009, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-and-human-male-breast-warts-nipples/486936/21 "2009-02-23T06:45:49Z")
> [@CaerieD](#): > > …okay, while I knew that stallions and bulls didn’t have nipples, I’d honestly assumed most male animals _did_ possess them. Now I feel a bit silly. Is there some big book o’ nipples out there that can illuminate me on which male animals have nipples and which don’t? I’d also point out that horses and cattle _do_ have toes. They stand on them; that’s what hooves are. In the case of horses, it’s one toe per foot, but it’s still a toe. And rats have toes too, obviously. I’m really hard-pressed to come up with a mammal that doesn’t have toes, actually. Sea mammals still have digits within their flippers, unless you’re not counting those? (I have no idea on the status of male nipples in dolphins, either, so I don’t know if there’s any correlation there.) ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2009, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-and-human-male-breast-warts-nipples/486936/22 "2009-02-23T06:48:56Z")
> [@Della](#): > > For what it’s worth, male rats also lack nipples. It’s one quick and easy way of differentiating between the sexes during early development, before the males hit their big growth spurt. > > I’m not sure whether the males of other rodent species, like mice or squirrels, are also nipple-free. Next time I’m in close quarters with a squirrel I’ll make sure to take a look. Meanwhile, apparently boars (swine, that is, not guinea pig males) are rife with nipples. Damnit. Now I’m going to be obsessed with male mammal nipples for the next week. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2009, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-and-human-male-breast-warts-nipples/486936/23 "2009-02-23T07:19:13Z")
As males take a more nurturing role in the lives of the young, perhaps those little suckers will evolve into something more useful and provide food on tap for the babies. That makes more sense to me. Knockers up, boys… ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7cd45c/32.png) [@Simple\_Mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Mind)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2009, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-and-human-male-breast-warts-nipples/486936/24 "2009-02-23T12:31:56Z")
Thank’s for all the sense making replys, some very good information from the "Master"himself. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2009, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-and-human-male-breast-warts-nipples/486936/25 "2009-02-23T12:45:38Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > As males take a more nurturing role in the lives of the young, perhaps those little suckers will evolve into something more useful and provide food on tap for the babies. That makes more sense to me. > > Knockers up, boys… Not unless women suddenly find male lactation to be a turn on. Or if there’s a worldwide shortage of formula… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-and-human-male-breast-warts-nipples/486936.md?page=1)