Does hippo produce pink milk instead of white? What do you think? Let’s talk about this then! There is a popular rumor that they have pinkish liquid drinks which is insane!
No mammal can produce pink or another colored dairy rather than off-white or white. So, what’s the plot to make this mammal a pink dairy producer?
It was just a Facebook post that got spread out without any investigation. And then everyone starts to whisper about this pink dairy story.
Why is hippo dairy pink?
Though it was just an unnecessary rumor, scientists tried to get the right concept about hippo’s milk. And interesting info came out. If you are interested in it then you have to read out the following part attentively.
Story of blood sweet
What is blood sweat? It may create an idea that the hippo has blood with its sweat. But no! Actually, there is a rare secretion which comes from its body and makes this concept of blood sweat.
Secretion of acidic element
We all know that a river horse loves to live wet-dry weather. To adjust to the climate, it secrets two kinds of acids named Hipposudoric acid and Norhipposudoric acid. The first one has a reddish color and the second one seems dark orange.
For this colored secretion, it may find the drinks is pinkish while mixed up. This fact is not still sure. It is just an assumption. But this acidic element secrets to balance their skin from sunburn. It has no relation with the milk of the mother.
Can we drink hippo milk?
Our digestion system is different from many other animals. Though humans are mammals they cannot drink each kind of drink for their nutrition.
While humans produce milk, it is lighter and easily digestible for babies. But a river horse produces dairy thicker than most other mammals.
Its volume is like yogurt and a cup contains 500 calories which are not right to take for a human. So, it can be said that we are not eligible to drink for its high nutritious value. Only the baby hippo can have this to grow up.
Does milk of hippo taste like strawberries?
The dairy is not either pink or tastes like strawberry. Yes, the secretion of those two acids sometimes blends with this drink but it doesn’t happen always.
So, it is wrong to indicate it as pink. And it is not like strawberries. Maybe, it seems like a strawberry shake while blending with the acids somehow. But there is no way that it tastes like strawberry while someone drinks it.
It tastes like normal dairy and it is mild than the cow’s drinks whereas heavier than the lambs.
Which other animals give us pink milk?
People think that the hippopotamus produces pink dairy which is almost like a rumor. There is another thinking about pink drink.
When yak gives birth to a calf, there is bleeding that mixes up with the white dairy. That’s why yak’s first milk is pinkish. But it doesn’t produce pink dairy regularly. After the bleeding closes the drink becomes white as its regular color.
Nutritious value of hippo milk
As we know that hippo’s milk is thicker than many other mammal’s, it is more energetic too. A newborn baby can fill up its nutrition by drinking its mother’s dairy only.
The nutritious value of this drink is higher and a single cup of liquid drink contains five hundred calories. It seems much but it is needed for the child hippo as it is also born with a great weight.
It is initially around 42 kg which means about 93 pounds. An interesting fact about dairy is that it is full of protein. But it has low fat and sugar.
How do hippos feed milk to their babies?
Do you know that the baby river horse has its birth underwater? Yes. It seems weird but it’s true. They give birth underwater so that the baby doesn’t get hurt.
Hippopotamus learns to swim before they learn to walk. After their birth, they fall into the water and start to swim. Because they have to survive in the water and they naturally learn this.
The babies drink by drowning underwater. They keep one of the breasts in their mouth and suck dairy from there. Then they sink into the water to take a breath. In this way, they repeat this again and again.
How long hippo produce milk?
A baby river horse drinks milk until it grows up to 3 weeks. It needs its mother’s drinks till these 3 weeks after their born.
The mother produces drinks for her baby during that time. It needs a huge amount as it comes with a huge weight of around 40 kg.
A story of a premature hippo and its feeding
Usually, babies can feed by themselves. But here was a different story. A female river horse named Fiona borne prematurely 6 weeks before the actual time.
She was too weak and sick that she could not drink from her mother’s udder. So, somebody had to do that. It was not an easy job. Fiona is born in the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens.
There the staff took care of the baby hippopotamus. Her mother, Bibi had an even lower amount of food for her baby. So, they sent the sample if it would be possible to make something a subsidiary. But the thing is Bibi produced white dairy not pink!
Conclusion
An oily secretion can change a mammal’s drinking element. Isn’t it funny? That’s why people got the wrong idea about the color of the dairy of the river horse.
But after the scientific discussions, the decision is final and it was hippopotami don’t produce pink or red drinks. So, never seek for it rather than finding it as white.
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