Older female killer whales can live for up to 50 years after they stop breeding

The wisdom of killer whale matriarchs could help to explain why women go through the menopause, scientists have claimed.

The menopause has been one of the great puzzles of evolutionary biology. The females of only three species — killer whales, pilot whales, and humans — are thought to carry on living after they pass beyond their reproductive age.

A new analysis of killer whales in the north Pacific suggests that older females, who can live for up to 50 years after they stop breeding, tend to lead the pods of whales through salmon foraging grounds.

Researchers at the universities of Exeter and York have previously found that the presence of these matriarchs makes it significantly more likely that their children and grandchildren will live longer.