A 40-year study of a population of killer whales off the US Pacific
coast has helped British researchers to solve an evolutionary mystery -
why killer whales and humans are two of only three species that go
through what we call menopause - stopping reproduction part-way through
their lives.
By examining a record
of every birth and death in every orca family, scientists discovered
that the menopause gave new calves a better chance at survival -
preventing what they called "reproductive conflict" between mothers and
daughters.
Prof Darren Croft from the University of Exeter, who collaborated with the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island and Fisheries and Oceans Canada in the study, says the findings, published in the journal Current Biology, could reveal how and why the same phenomenon evolved in humans.-read more and see video
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