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Chimpanzees Go Through Menopause, Too (www.nytimes.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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It is not obvious why selection should favor menopause or the continued survival of individuals that can no longer reproduce. The famous Grandmother Hypothesis had been used to explain the evolutionary significance of menopause. A new study conducted on the Ngogo chimpanzees community of wild chimpanzees in Uganda challenges this hypothesis. Science 27 Oct 2023 Vol 382, Issue 6669 DOI: 10.1126/science.add547

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

They don’t live long enough to go through menopause. Ever met a female cat that lived into her 50s?

We may soon discover that orcas also experience menopause as soon as some daring team of whale biologists carries out a similar study collecting orca pee.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Some whales have menopause too I think.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Orcas do, and their behavior fits the grandmother hypothesis pretty well.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

And elephants.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

That wouldn’t surprise me at all. They certainly live long enough.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Ah, I see. That's interesting, never realized this! I guess I just thought mammals had similar reproductive setups (aside from different gestations and number of children etc) But I really have no idea haha.