(I) Female killer whales live long after their reproductive
years are over. (II) A recent study showed that adult
sons of mother whales live longer and produce more
offspring when the mother has a long post-menopausal
phase. (III) The same trend, however, was not observed
for daughters of the same whales. (IV) The mechanism
by which mothers increase their adult sons’ survival
are unclear, but hypothesized reasons include
assistance to search for food and support during
dangerous situations. (V) Whale research has become
an increasingly popular field over the past ten years,
which was actually unexpected.