When one thinks of an animal's favourite food, sweetness is what naturally comes to our minds. From hummingbirds sipping nectar to bears loving honey, many animals crave sugar. To your surprise, not all animals. There are a handful of animals that do not enjoy the same sweet tooth as we do. In fact, many animals entirely lack the sense of tasting sweetness because of their evolutionary adaptations in their taste buds.

The main reason for some animals being unable to taste sweetness is genetic. The T1R2 and T1R3 receptors detect sweetness. In certain animals, one of these genes lost function after millions of years. As taste has a direct correlation with diet, species that didn't gain an advantage from sugar simply lost the requirement for a Sweet sense.

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Which Animal Cannot Taste Sweetness?

Animal Cause of Absence of Sweet Taste Dietary Notes
Cats (domestic & wild felines) Lacking T1R2 receptor Obligate carnivores; use meat, not carbs
Dolphins Lost sweet receptors Eat only fish and squid, no vegetation
Sea Lions Same receptor loss Carnivorous diet only
Hyenas Mutated sweet receptor Become used to a meat diet
Vampire Bats No working sweet receptor Live only on blood

 Source: National Geographic

Why Losing Sweet Taste Bud Matters in Evolution?

- Due to diet, because carnivores like cats have no natural sugars in their diet, sweetness is not necessary.

- Due to energy efficiency, because unused senses decay over time, evolution eliminates what is not needed.

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- Due to behavioural Influence, because animals without a sweet taste don't have the same desire for sugary foods as humans do, accounting for why your cat won't beg for a piece of chocolate cake.

Therefore, Sweetness is one of mankind's most beloved flavours, but not every creature has the privilege to taste it. For animals that live on protein-only diets, the sweet receptor is just unnecessary. So go ahead and indulge in dessert tonight, your pet cat literally cannot imagine what it's really missing.