Diagnosis of Menopause in a Captive Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii)

Humans were long thought to be the only mammal to experience menopause, the permanent cessation of reproduction followed by a long post-reproductive lifespan. More recently, evidence has been found for the existence of menopause in other long-lived mammals, including chimpanzees and gorillas. However, orangutans, which have the longest interbirth interval of any primate, have rarely been studied in this period of their lives. In this paper, we describe clinical, ultrasound, endocrine, and histological evidence consistent with a natural menopause in a captive, previously fertile, Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), aged approximately 50. Consecutive serum samples showed low levels of estradiol and high levels of follicle-stimulating hormone. Transvaginal ultrasound revealed an atrophic uterus with an antero-posterior diameter of 2.36 cm, an endometrial thickness of 2 mm, and inactive ovaries. Following this female's death from a subdural hematoma, histological examination of the ovaries showed a dense stroma with corpora albicantia, in comparison to the numerous primordial follicles seen in the ovaries of a stillborn infant female orangutan. These multiple lines of evidence suggest that Sumatran orangutans can now be added to the list of mammals which undergo a true menopause, which may ensure that females' final offspring can be reared to independence.