“Studies have shown that listening to the sound of beavers enthusiastically munching on white cabbage can temporarily reduce stress levels by up to 17%,” @DickKingSmith tweeted last fall. (The account is maintained by the family of the late children’s book author, who wrote the story that inspired the critter-filled farmyard movie Babe). The post, accompanied by a video of a rodent enjoying a cabbage buffet, went viral and was clearly untrue—but nodded toward the bizarre calming effect some people experience while listening to the sounds of animals ingesting food.

A slew of popular A.S.M.R. videos attest to the phenomenon. You can indulge in the spine-tingling noshing noises of a parrot, or the satisfying crunches of a prairie dog chowing down bok choy. Japan’s Nagasaki Bio Park regularly churns out audible footage of its animals at feeding time, including a watermelon-chomping hippo, an apple-munching tapir, and a herd of capybaras devouring a giant pumpkin. The Animal A.S.M.R. YouTube channel takes a more formal approach, placing hungry creatures such as snails, guinea pigs, and tortoises on a makeshift soundstage to capture them eating fruits and vegetables next to a pair of microphones. Even if you’re not affected by the sounds of animals snacking, there’s an unmistakable sensorial satisfaction in watching them get their fill. Nom nom nom.