Do animals go through menopause?

BlunderWoman

BlunderWoman

Senior Member
I got to wondering this a few minutes ago & googled it. I would have thought apes or other mammals resembling humans did it but I was dead wrong. According to this science site there are only three :

The animal kingdom is full of strange reproductive strategies, but when it comes to menopause, humans are among the weirdest. In just three species on the planet — humans, killer whales and pilot whales — do females routinely stop breeding years before the end of their lives. Human women spend about a third of their life span after menopause.

http://www.livescience.com/22574-animals-menopause.html
 

Menopause is a gift to humanity. It allows women time after child bearing to function as wise elders and to help the younger women to raise and educate the children.
The alternative is a shorter life span, loss of valuable learning and experience and mothers struggling to raise children without the support of grandmothers.

Kangaroos are interesting. They do not have a menopause but early on they tend to produce only female offspring. When they are at the end of their reproductive lives they produce males. The kangaroo population needs less males than females so this pattern works well.
 
Warrigal said:
Menopause is a gift to humanity. It allows women time after child bearing to function as wise elders and to help the younger women to raise and educate the children.
The alternative is a shorter life span, loss of valuable learning and experience and mothers struggling to raise children without the support of grandmothers.

Kangaroos are interesting. They do not have a menopause but early on they tend to produce only female offspring. When they are at the end of their reproductive lives they produce males. The kangaroo population needs less males than females so this pattern works well.
Click to expand...
Interesting about the kangaroos. Thanks :)
 
Mares may not go through menopause per se, but some can become sterile with age, or at least fail to "catch" if bred. Which age, may depend on the individual mare.
 
I dunno, we took on a girl overnight...on her period and what a mess, and so very much barking. Unfixed however...we returned her to irresponsible owner. Sophie and Callie are both neutered as far as sex drive it is zero except cats hitting on them. Really Mr. Foote is open to anyone, canine, feline, male or female...fixed yet a weird cat.
 
I think it's cool that geldings never seem to realize they've been gelded. Since mares aren't spayed (or rarely are), the guys still feel the attraction. Sure, it can be annoying sometimes, depending on the situation (and hilarious/embarrassing if there are little kids around) but I think it's cool. Some of the mares apparently think so too!
 

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