Human–animal breastfeeding

Throughout history, humans and animals have shared a special bond through milk. This practice, called human-animal breastfeeding, happens in two different ways. Sometimes, women nurse young animals like puppies or kittens. Other times, animals like goats or donkeys nurse human babies.

This was often done to help babies survive when a mother could not feed them. People used animals as "wet nurses," which are helpers who provide milk to infants. This connection has been part of many different cultures for a very long time. It shows how humans have looked to the animal world to care for their own young.

In many places, using animals was a practical way to keep babies healthy. In 18th and 19th-century Europe, foundling hospitals used goats and donkeys to feed abandoned babies.

Using an animal was often safer than using a human wet nurse. At that time, milk could carry germs that made babies very sick. It was not until the 1870s that we learned how to make milk safe through pasteurisation. In some cases, people even used goats to help treat babies with illnesses. They would give the goats special medicine so the milk would carry it to the child. This was a difficult and serious way to try and save lives.

Many famous stories and myths use this idea to show how special a person is.

In Rome, the twin brothers Romulus and Remus were said to be raised by a she-wolf. The Greek god Zeus was also said to have been fed by a goat named Amalthea. Even some great leaders like Cyrus I of Persia were rumored to have been suckled by a dog. These stories were often used to show that these people were destined for greatness. In literature, a famous 12th-century story called Hayy ibn Yaqdhan tells of a boy raised by an antelope. These tales show how much people have wondered about the link between humans and animals.

People in the past also believed that milk could change a person's character.

For example, the scientist Carl Linnaeus thought that milk from a lioness could make a child brave. Some people thought goats might make a child too playful, so they chose donkeys instead. In Egypt, however, people feared donkey milk might make a child stubborn. Even human milk was thought to pass on traits, leading to laws in 19th-century France. These beliefs show that people saw milk as more than just food. They saw it as a way for the qualities of one living thing to move into another.

Today, we know there are many different reasons why humans nurse animals.

Some women do it out of love for a family pet. Others do it for economic reasons, such as helping an animal survive so it can be useful later. There are also religious reasons, like the Italian nun Saint Veronica Giuliani, who nursed a lamb as a symbol. Some people even do it for their own health, like trying to ease pain. Whether for survival, tradition, or affection, this practice connects us to the natural world in a very direct way.