An 18-month-old boy in Cambodia named Tha Sophat suckled milk directly from a cow, after his mother was busy working away from home because the village they lived in was devastated by a typhoon in July.

Baby Tha Sophat sucks milk from her mother’s cow in a delicious way – Photo: Daily Mail

The storm destroyed their family home, forcing the boy’s mother to leave Cambodia for Thailand to find work. Tha Sophat does not have breast milk, so she has to drink milk directly from one of the family’s cows.

Tha Sophat’s grandfather said his 18-month-old grandson had been drinking cow’s milk like this for more than a month.

After weaning, the boy becomes weak and often gets sick. Seeing a calf suckling milk from its mother’s cow, baby Tha Sophat followed and since then suckled milk directly from this cow every day. When his grandfather pulled him away, he cried so much that he had to let him continue to do so.

The cute and pitiful look of baby Tha Sophat when she had to drink cow’s milk instead of breast milk – Photo: Daily Mail

Authorities and people in Pheas village, in Siem Reap province have expressed concern about this way of rearing. “They criticized me and forced me to stop feeding my grandson directly from cows. They say that later on, my grandson is easily embarrassed because of it and will become more stubborn and difficult to teach,” the boy’s grandfather said.

Therefore, he forced the boy to limit his milk intake to only once a day. He said: “The baby is in good health. He’s fine and doesn’t have diarrhea.”