All the creatures who go through menopause

(so far)

Photo by Nitesh Jain on Unsplash

We often hear that “only humans and whales go through menopause”.

In fact the New York Times has just published a lovely piece outlining more evidence that in the orca family system, menopause evolved because it’s more helpful to the survival of the species for older mothers to invest in the sons they already have – by literally feeding them – than in having additional children.

I love hearing about whales and menopause. When Darcy Steinke introduced this reality to the wider world (and me) – in her 2019 menopause memoir Flash Count Diary, she wrote about finding “a kindred menopausal creature” in a 50-year-old killer whale named Lolita.

BUT.

“Only humans and whales go through menopause” is an often-repeated phrase by outlets and journalists who really need to cast a wider net in their research. Because as you will see when you read on, it’s not only whales and humans who go through menopause.