Killer whales: Revealing the close swarm relationship, the unexpected role of the female with the young

Female killer whales live more than 80 years - much longer than male killer whales, and there's a special reason for that.

There is a huge difference in lifespan between male and female killer whales. While many females reach the age of "eighty old hybrids", only one male has been found to live past the age of 50. Furthermore, this fish is one of the few mammals to experience sex. menopause in the late afternoon.

There is a huge difference in lifespan between male and female killer whales.

Scientists spent some time researching, and discovered that female killer whales are the most devoted grandmothers in the ocean.

Why do female killer whales live longer than males?

Stretching from the poles to the Equator, oceanic "gods" live in close-knit family groups of up to 40 individuals. These apex predators work together to hunt a wide variety of prey, victims including much larger whales or common fish.

From the point of view of modern humans in some cultures, it is possible that both male and female killer whales are the ones who never grow up, when they spend their whole lives with their parents and relatives, not bothering to self. establish and find a partner outside to prevent "inbreeding marriage".

Female killer whales stop breeding around age 40 and can live up to 90, while males tend to live around 50 years down the line.

Menopause has been an interesting question for biology enthusiasts for centuries. The problem is, although women (or in this article, female killer whales) already have a longer life expectancy than men, they have a few more decades of being unable to bear children, while herds Can you (and male killer whales) reproduce until your death?

Most females in mammals always pay a much higher price to reproduce

Some popular theories are that it is the menopause in female killer whales that prevents them from competing for resources for the rest of their lives, but can spend part of their "old age" instructing and protecting their offspring. . Furthermore, the majority of females in mammals always pay a much higher price to reproduce. Specifically, health risks, mental and physical exhaustion for both mother and child.

Through research, scientists also discovered the great role of grandmothers in human society itself, when in hunter-gatherer and pre-industrial communities, children who still have grandmothers are able to survive. much higher.

The paramount role of the grandma killer whale

To confirm a similar phenomenon in killer whales, the team of Dan Franks - an evolutionary ecologist in the UK, painstakingly analyzed 40 years of data on two groups of killer whales off the coast of Washington state - USA and British Columbia - Canada.

After decades of following these schools of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest, scientists have learned that killer whales still live with their mothers as adults, but more importantly, their families are still alive. with her again. Grandma killer whales have a particularly important role in the matrilineal society of oceanic "wild gods".

Specifically, killer whale "babies" who lived with her had a much higher survival rate. Not to mention, their ability to "go back to their grandparents" was suddenly high within 2 years after their grandmother passed away.

Explaining this, scientists believe that the matriarchy helps her whales possess a lot of profound knowledge about the ocean, as well as the secret of abundant food sources for offspring.

According to Dan Franks, "Grandma's deep knowledge and leadership skills have been of great help to her grandchildren, especially during difficult times".

Franks says that postmenopausal killer whales are likely to devote more resources to their grandchildren, which makes the deaths of "grandmothers" particularly tragic - the role of males. in this species has not been well understood.

 Postmenopausal killer whales are likely to devote more resources to their grandchildren.

The risk is also highest when the population of salmon (their food) is low or moderate, which suggests that the fish are most useful during times of food scarcity.

Franks also adds that the grandmother whale will find a food source and share it with her grandchildren. Even more, scientists speculate its role is much more important, but we are losing the opportunity to study these amazing creatures because of human destruction of nature.