Killer Whales Are One of the Few Species With Menopause

Menopause is rare in the animal world. NOAA Fisheries lists the species known to undergo it: humans, killer whales, false killer whales, beluga whales, narwhals, short-finned pilot whales and, likely, bottlenose dolphins. It adds that other long-lived marine mammals may plausibly experience it too. Long lives are part of the picture for killer whales. According to NOAA Fisheries, females typically live about 50 years in the wild but can live to at least 90, while males average about 30 years and can live to at least 60. Females reach sexual maturity between 10 and 13 years old. Family matters a great deal. Most killer whales live in pods, groups of maternally related individuals seen together more than half the time, and calves stay closely associated with their mothers for at least their first two years.