New Study Reveals Evolutionary Benefits of Menopause in Whales

Researchers find that menopause in toothed whales, including orcas and belugas, evolved to allow older females to support their offspring without competing for resources.

Menopause in toothed whales evolved to extend females' lifespans, enabling them to care for grandchildren without competing with their daughters.
The study, published in Nature, is the first to examine menopause across several species of toothed whales.
Only six mammal species, including humans and five species of toothed whales, are known to experience menopause.
The findings support the 'grandmother hypothesis,' suggesting that menopause evolved to increase the survival of offspring's offspring.
Researchers caution that studying whale demography is challenging due to biases and small sample sizes in available data.