2023-10-26 20:00:00
Wild primates from Kibale National Park, Uganda, share this rare evolutionary trait with the human species.
Chimpanzees are definitely among the primates that most resemble humans. Female chimpanzees that live in the wild stop procreating well before the end of their lives due to a change in their hormone production, which causes their menopause. Until now, apart from humans, this rare evolutionary trait had only been observed for five species of marine mammals, including the orca, the narwhal and the beluga whale. “With rare exceptions, such as certain bees, the vast majority of free-ranging animals continue to reproduce until the end of their lives, like African elephants until their sixties.explains Michael Cant, professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Exeter (Great Britain).
The result obtained after a titanic work undertaken in 1995 in the Kibale National Park (Uganda) and published in Science , this October 26, is therefore remarkable. The idea for this study was launched in 1993 by John Mitani…
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#Female #chimpanzees #menopause