# Any Mammalian Milk That Humans SHOULDN'T Drink? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 19, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391 "2009-10-19T21:17:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/1 "2009-10-19T21:17:53Z")
Excluding that which comes from momma humans, most of the milk consumed by humans comes from cows. I get that there are some cultures that drink the milk of other mammals such as goats, but are there any that are strictly verboten due to the limits of the human digestive system? Could I down a cup of chimp milk and live to tell the tale? Dolphin milk? Rat milk? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/2 "2009-10-19T21:27:40Z")
There are no mammalian milks that would be poisonous or harmful to humans. Many would taste horrid. The milk of sea lions, e.g., is 40% fat and has no lactose. Getting enough to drink would be another issue. Pigs are notoriously hard to milk, which is why cultures that use pigs as the dominant source of meat, such as the Chinese, tend not to use any milk in their cuisine. It takes dedicated scientists to express sufficient milk out of any number of mammals to do studies on it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/3 "2009-10-19T21:32:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Any Mammalian Milk That Humans SHOULDN’T Drink? I have it on the best authority that you should never drink Tiger milk straight from the teat. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/4 "2009-10-19T21:38:50Z")
I understand that in addition to goats, some cultures commonly drink milk from camels or yaks. I’ve also heard since I was a child that yak’s milk is pink. Why is this? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/5 "2009-10-19T21:40:08Z")
[Cow’s Milk is a White Poison — It’ll KILL You and Your Family](http://www.skrewtips.com/2007/09/14/cow%E2%80%99s-milk-is-a-white-poison-itll-kill-you-and-your-family/) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/6 "2009-10-19T21:40:40Z")
Bat milk? ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/7 "2009-10-19T21:53:45Z")
This is a mild hijack, but it turns out, based on the way giraffe milk curdles, that giraffe is kosher. Mazel tov! [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/2084281/Giraffe-is-kosher-Israeli-vets-have-ruled.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/2084281/Giraffe-is-kosher-Israeli-vets-have-ruled.html) ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/8 "2009-10-19T22:01:39Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [Cow’s Milk is a White Poison — It’ll KILL You and Your Family](http://www.skrewtips.com/2007/09/14/cow%E2%80%99s-milk-is-a-white-poison-itll-kill-you-and-your-family/) Not sure who posted this or whether this was suppose to be ironic or not, but considering that people evolved to digest lactose (three separate times) means that milk must have been an important food for those cultures for thousands of years, and that there was an evolutionary benefit for drinking milk. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/9 "2009-10-19T22:31:36Z")
Never try to milk a bull. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/10 "2009-10-19T23:37:59Z")
horse, water buffalo, deer and moose are also milked in some cultures. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/11 "2009-10-19T23:43:45Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Could I down a cup of … Dolphin milk? Rat milk? Am I the only one envisioning a tiny scale model cowshed for the rats? 😃 Oh, and did you hear about the Dolphin dairy farmer? Yeah, he drowned. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/12 "2009-10-19T23:52:47Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Bat milk? What, like [this](http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/8/14/)? ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/13 "2009-10-20T01:09:36Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > horse, water buffalo, deer and moose are also milked in some cultures. I read that " …deer and mouse" and almost choked. Thanks! The images in my head will now keep me amused. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/14 "2009-10-20T01:13:45Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I understand that in addition to goats, some cultures commonly drink milk from camels or yaks. > > I’ve also heard since I was a child that yak’s milk is pink. Why is this? I think the yak gets it’s name from people that tried to drink the milk.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/15 "2009-10-20T01:19:59Z")
How could there be non-mammalian milk? By definition, a creature that produces milk is a mammal, right? Okay, now that I got that out of the way… Do carnivores produce less milk than herbivores? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/16 "2009-10-20T01:24:41Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > How could there be non-mammalian milk? By definition, a creature that produces milk is a mammal, right? > > Okay, now that I got that out of the way… > > Do carnivores produce less milk than herbivores? I wanted to post that all reptile milk was safe and low calorie, but didn’t until now. I know of no animal with poisonous milk. There is milk that is super high in fat so not good for a human to consume in large amounts. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/17 "2009-10-20T03:51:41Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > How could there be non-mammalian milk? By definition, a creature that produces milk is a mammal, right? Yeah, but I am not going to volunteer to milk the platypusses. Venomous mammals, God knows what the mild is like. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/18 "2009-10-20T04:08:55Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > How could there be non-mammalian milk? By definition, a creature that produces milk is a mammal, right? Pigeons and doves produce a nutritious secretion in their crops, commonly known as “pigeon milk,” on which they feed their chicks. Similar substances are produced by the Greater Flamingo and the Emperor Penguins. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/19 "2009-10-20T04:15:41Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > horse, water buffalo, deer and moose are also milked in some cultures. [Moosemilk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moosemilk) is not actually produced by milking moose. On the off chance that this wasn’t intended as a woosh, what cultures milk moose as a general thing? ---
**Author:** ![aawilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e495f1/32.png) [@aawilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aawilson)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391/20 "2009-10-20T05:19:47Z")
[Moose Milk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose_milk), not to be confused with the alcoholic drink [Moosemilk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose_milk) actually is common in Russia, according to wikipedia as well! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-mammalian-milk-that-humans-shouldnt-drink/514391.md?page=2)