Thursday, May 3, 2012

Lets Get it On

Orangutan Reproduction:

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
The females reproductive stage lasts about 9 months, similar to humans. Females also don't show external signs of estrus or menstruation. Their reproductive cycles last about 30 days. Every 6-7 years a female will give birth to an offspring. They usually raise and stay in contact with their young for the first 7 years of its life.A female is considered to have reached adulthood when they have their first offspring. This whole process is very costly because it is so long and she is taking care of not only herself but of her infant as well.

Orangutan baby and mother


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