Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 12/13/2011 - 18:15

Hello Ms.Brown, my name is David Worman and I am in Ms. Kherberg's 1st period class at O.henry and I was wondering why does the milk of a seal has so much more fat content than any other type of milk?

Michelle Brown

Hello David,Great question--the seals have so much more fat content because they need their pups to gain weight and blubber fast. This is because they will soon need to be able to swim and withstand cold temperatures. The high fat content gives the pups lots of energy to store and turn into these things. For the mother, this is one of the most energy-consuming times in her life. The mother seal cannot go feed herself to get more energy, but instead loses energy by nursing her pups!
Thanks for a great question!
Sincerely,
Ms. Brown