Researchers studied wild chimpanzees in Uganda's Kibale National Park.
They found that female chimpanzees in this group can go through menopause and live after they can't have babies.
This was surprising because these traits were mostly seen in a few kinds of whales and only in humans among primates.
Why it's important
The researchers hope this info will help us understand why menopause happens in nature and how it started in humans.
Brian Wood, an anthropology professor, said that women who can't have babies anymore still have important roles in human societies.
This study helps us figure out why this happens in chimpanzees, who have different living arrangements than humans.
Even though older female chimpanzees at Ngogo don't usually live near their daughters or help with grandchildren, they often live past their baby-making years.
How it was discovered
This study looked at 185 female chimpanzees from 1995 to 2016.
They found that the chimpanzees at Ngogo had a similar experience to human menopause, starting around age 50.
The researchers think this might be because of good living conditions for these chimpanzees.
They had plenty of food and low risk of predators, which could be why they have this trait.
The team hopes to keep studying how older chimpanzees behave and affect their groups.
