In most cases, they will spend time alone and have no stable groups. According to Havilland (2009), while orangutans will form groups occasionally, they are largely semi solitary. The remaining females under the dominance of the silverback will also disperse upon its death (Haviland, 2009).ĭifference can also be seen in the formation and sustainability of social groups. On contrary, among the gorillas, females emigrate from their natal groups to avoid inbreeding.
They then establish a territory where they become the resident male. Male orangutans will normally disperse over a wide range and wander around until they secure a home. This is not the case among the chimpanzees and the gorillas. For instance, he observes that among the orangutans the males do disperse. Irrespective of such similarities, Havilland (2009) has also noted that orangutans, gorillas, and the common chimpanzees have differences in their social organizations. This is however contrary to what happens among the gorillas, where much of the infant care lies with the mother here, the male comes in only by way of socialization. He notes that, among the chimpanzee and the orangutans, infant care is the responsibility of the entire community. Nevertheless, he concludes that, just like is the case with the guerillas, there exists an overall dominant male.Īdditionally, Havilland (2009) observes that in all the three species, infant’s care is of utmost importance to ensure continuity of the community. Their mating is characterized as promiscuous as a female can mate with multiple males during estrus. However, he keenly observes, there is no much rivalry among the males as is the case with the guerillas, as they are seen to co-operate a lot in the hunting for meat. The same is the case among the chimpanzees where the male are also dominant over the females. Equally, the dispersing males may attract other emigrating females and start new social groups in which they become dominant over females. In the latter arrangement, they will only have an opportunity to mate when the silverback dies. That is, the male gorilla are also the dominant and that due to the dominance of a single male over the others, the other males may elect to move out to new areas to establish their dominance or decide to stay and become subordinate to the existing dominant male. He postulates that the same is the case among the gorilla. He observes that a resident male will usually have a home range comprised of several adult males under his control. This will be by dislocating another resident male. As adults, he notes, they try to become residents and will usually travel widely and adopt a migratory lifestyle until they secure a home. According to White (1989), among the orangutans, adult males are transient and wander broadly. This is known as a consortship group and is seen to consist of adult breeding pair (Haviland, 2009).Īnother characteristic which is inherent in the orangutan, gorilla and chimpanzees’ community is the male dominance over female. This is also the time that travel bands are formed to allow the coordination of individuals which makes it possible for them to travel between the areas with food. This is when fission and fusion groups are formed and the animals associate in small groups. This is possible because there is less scrabble for food. Their feeding aggregations are formed where resident males, females, and nonresident sub adults gather and feed in large fruiting trees.
He added that orangutans are to be found in groups especially depending on the availability of food. This minimum number of two, in case of gorillas, normally comprise of a male, commonly known as silverback, and a female. On the other hand, gorillas live in groups ranging from 2 to 20. For instance, he notes that common chimpanzees travel in small frequently changing groups while large groups of chimpanzees, will be found around a food locale or an attractive female. This write up will explore the similarities and differences in the social organization of orangutans, gorillas and common chimpanzees.Īccording to Haviland (2009), the orangutans, gorillas, and common chimpanzees have certain similar characteristics they all live and travel in groups. Primates’ interactions are organized in such a way that every member is actively involved in the community. It encompasses the myriad of interactions in a group ranging from the size of groups, communications within the group, mating systems, and the dominance systems of a group among other characteristics. Social organization of a group is a wide concept.
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