2006 Volume 55 Issue 1 Pages 37-41
A lactating female Blainville's whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) was stranded near the beach at Ganyudo, Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan on 9 July, 2005 with a calf. A milk sample was recovered from the mammary gland by incision after death.
The milk consists of 48.4% water, 34.8% fat, 15.8% protein, 0.2% carbohydrate and 0.8% ash. Its mineral composition is characterized by high calcium, sodium, and potassium contents. The milk protein contained relatively high levels of glutamic acid, leucine, aspartic acid, lysine and proline, and relatively low levels of amino acids such as methionine, cystine, tryptophane, and glycine. A quantitative analysis of fatty acids showed a high content of oleic acid (C18:1) which accounted for about 50% of all fatty acids detected. Myristic (C14:0), palmitic (C16:0), palmitoleic (C16:1), steraric (C18:0) and arachioleic (C20:1) acids were also found at in significant levels.
