this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2023
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Science

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48
Chimpanzees Go Through Menopause, Too (www.nytimes.com)
submitted 10 months 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 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months 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 10 months ago (3 children)

Some whales have menopause too I think.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

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

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

And elephants.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

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

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months 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.