Orangutans reproduce very slowly so there is a lot of competition between males to find females. Females are attracted to flanged males. There are two types of males in the Orangutan populations, flanged and unflanged. Flanged males are the larger of the two with cheek pads, throat pouches and longer hair. On the other hand females are still very selective in their mating process and will turn away any male that doesnt fit her fancy. Unfortunately this has led to some males forcing females into copulation. Most of the time the larger male wins and the smaller males are left with nothing. We can also define this system as short term polygyny.
Flanges Male Orangutan |
Orangutan baby and mother |
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