Physical constraints on mammalian suckling

The feeding of infant mammals on milk, such as breastfeeding in humans, is a key characteristic of mammalian development. We report suckling data for 86 species of mammals extracted from the video-sharing website Youtube. Variations in the suckling rate of individual species suggest that there exists several physical constraints associated to fast muscular actuation and slow milk swallowing. In addition, we compare the suckling kinematics with the chewing of the same species of adult mammals. Our study provides a framework to detect pathologies in animal nursing and to improve the design of baby bottles in mammals including humans.