Whales and menopause
As my own mother struggled with menopause, I wondered: why?
Why would menstruating people—and not the other part of humanity—experience menopausal symptoms? What's the point in stopping us (i'm a menstruating human too) from having more children, despite the already present risk around and after 40 years old?
Internet has it all, so I typed this question. I found out that we share this traits with only few mammals: killer whales, short-finned pilot whales, false killer whales, belugas and narwals (that we know of). Not even chimpanzee, as I would have expected.
Why does this trait exists at all, then? There's an hypothesis that grandparents would bring an evolutive advantage. Grandma whales helping their grandchildren instead of their own kiddos would be beneficial for the whole species.
I didn't told this to my own mom, tho, because else she will again ask when are her own grandchildren coming. ;_;