Mrs. Porter-Kay: Life cycle information for rainforest animals 17/11/13
Reproduction / Life cycle information
Sloth Life Cycle (three – toed)
Members of this species tend to live around 25 to 30 years, reaching sexual maturation at two
years of age. They do not have a mating season and breed year round. Females give birth to a
single young after a gestation period of around six months. They are weaned at about 9 months
of age, when the mother leaves her home territory to her offspring and moves elsewhere.
Jaguar
Jaguar females reach sexual maturity at about two years of age, and males at three or four. The cat
is believed to mate throughout the year in the wild, although births may increase when prey is
plentiful. Research on captive male jaguars supports the year-round mating hypothesis, with no
seasonal variation in semen traits and ejaculatory quality; low reproductive success has also been
observed in captivity.
Pairs separate after mating, and females provide all parenting. The gestation period lasts 93–105
days; females give birth to up to four cubs, and most commonly to two. The mother will not tolerate
the presence of males after the birth of cubs. The young are born blind, gaining sight after two
weeks. Cubs are weaned at three months, but remain in the birth den for six months before leaving
to accompany their mother on hunts. They will continue in their mother's company for one to two
years before leaving to establish a territory for themselves. Young males are at first nomadic,
jostling with their older counterparts until they succeed in claiming a territory. Typical lifespan in
the wild is estimated at around 12–15 years; in captivity, the jaguar lives up to 23 years, placing it
among the longest-lived cats.
More information at http://www.jaguares.com.ar/datos-personales/e/reproduccion-e.html
Mrs. Porter-Kay: Life cycle information for rainforest animals 17/11/13
Toucan
Mating System: monogamous
The breeding season for toucans occurs in the spring. Tree cavities are the typical nesting site
where a single clutch of 2 to 4 eggs are laid by the female. Toucans breed yearly. The hatchlings are
bare-skinned, close-eyed, and helpless until approximately 6 to 8 weeks later. At this time, the
young begin to develop their characteristic beak and will soon fledge. Toucans become sexually
mature in 3 to 4 years.
Breeding interval: Toucans breed once yearly.
Breeding season: The breeding season occurs in the spring.
Range eggs per season: 2 to 4.
Range time to hatching: 15 to 18 days.
Range fledging age: 6 to 8 weeks.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 3 to 4 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 3 to 4 years.
Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding.
Both parents take turns incubating the eggs in the small cavity of a tree where the nest is situated.
The young remain in the nest for about 6 to 8 weeks.
Mandrill
The Mandrill becomes mature at about 3 ½ years of age. The females will initiate mating if she is
interested in him. It takes about 5 months from conception for the young to be born. There is no set
mating season for these Monkeys. The mothers are very excited to have the young arrive. They take
very good care of them and won’t mate again until the young they have to care for are mature. If a
baby should die then they will mate again in the hopes of being able to replace it.
Mandrill fact sheet useful for your information report
http://www.denverzoo.org/downloads/dzoo_mandrill.pdf
Mrs. Porter-Kay: Life cycle information for rainforest animals 17/11/13
Lemur
For most species of Lemurs the mating season is very short. This is usually less than three weeks
per year. The time of year for mating of the Lemurs is environmentally effected. That means that in
some areas the young are born during the winter months. Yet there is very warm weather there
annually. In other areas though the young are born in the spring or the summer.
The incubation periods will also very. It can be as low as 9 weeks in some species. For others
though it can be up to 24 weeks. Studies show that the smaller the size of the Lemur the more
young that will be born at once. The smaller species will average 2 at a time but can have up to 4.
The larger species typically have 1 offspring at a time but can have 2.
The availability of food often determines when Lemurs will reproduce. When food supplies are
short they will avoid breeding. This is a natural method for them to be able to continue to increase
their own chances of survival.
The babies are very vulnerable at birth. The mothers will carry them around in her mouth until
they are able to hold on her back safely. They will continue to piggy back on here until they are old
enough to move through the trees on their own. They stay with their mothers for 2 years before
venturing out on their own.
Baby Lemurs consume milk from their mothers until they are old enough to forge on their own. The
emerging of the first molar is when the mother will stop feeding them from her body. What is very
interesting is that the weaning period for these young Lemurs is often timed right around the time
of year when the food is the most plentiful.
The mortality rate is very high for baby Lemurs. More than half of them will die before they are able
to leave their mom and go out on their own. The typical life span of a Lemur in the wild is
approximately 18 years.
Tree Kangaroo
Information including reproduction http://www.tree-kangaroo.net/tkInfo.html
Mrs. Porter-Kay: Life cycle information for rainforest animals 17/11/13
Orangutan
Orangutan Breeding and Reproduction
Orangutan males are ready to mate when they are approximately 15 years of age. For girls it is
about 12 years of age. For these apes, they live along instead of in groups. When it is time for
mating though the males and females find each other through a variety of calls as well as the scents
that their bodies offer from various glands.
The males also make what are called long calls followed by bellows. They can be heard for a very
long distance. They are often used to call in females that are mature and ready for mating. These
calls can go on for hours and hours when a mature male is determined to find a female that he can
mate with. He will even pass up eating in order to continue his calls.
As a male gets older he will grow larger flaps on his cheeks. These flaps are a physical attraction for
the females. This is one of the reasons why it is the older male orangutans that generally get to
engage in mating with the mature females. Generally these older males are also strong enough to
fight off the younger ones that do want to challenge their territory.
Males can be extremely aggressive when it comes to mating. They will force females to mate if they
won’t do so willingly. If the female is strong enough she may be able to get away from the male.
However, usually she won’t be strong enough and has to endure the process whether she is
interested or not. If the mating is consensual then the pair may spend several days together
interacting and mating before they go their separate ways again.
After mating takes place, it takes from 8 ½ to 9 months for the baby to be born. There is almost
always one baby born. There are few known cases of twins being born in captivity so it is assumed
that this is not common in the wild. A newborn is about 3 1/2 pounds.
The females take very good care of their offspring. It is common for the young to stay with their
mothers for about the first 7 years of life. Most of the information we have about social behavior of
orangutans in the wild is based on these types of interactions. For the first couple of years of life the
babies ride on the backs of their mothers. Once they are old enough to consume fruits they will
follow her through the forest.
The childhood of the orangutan is the longest of all apes. It is also one of the longest of all animals
out there. As a child becomes old enough to leave the mother, he or she will start to feed further
and further away. Then one day the two will simply part ways and then she will be willing to mate
again.
Mrs. Porter-Kay: Life cycle information for rainforest animals 17/11/13
Should a mother orangutan lose her baby early on, she will be ready to mate much sooner. There
are reports of mature males trying to kill the offspring in an effort to get the female to reproduce
with him. However, these females can be very defensive when it comes to protecting their young.
Hornbill
Hornbills generally form monogamous pairs, although some species engage in cooperative
breeding. The female lays up to six white eggs in existing holes or crevices, either in trees or rocks.
The cavities are usually natural, but some species may nest in the abandoned nests of
woodpeckers and barbets. Nesting sites may be used in consecutive breeding seasons, by the same
pair. Before incubation, the females of all Bucerotinae—sometimes assisted by the male—begin to
close the entrance to the nest cavity with a wall made of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. When the
female is ready to lay her eggs, the entrance is just large enough for her to enter the nest, and after
she has done so, the remaining opening is also all but sealed shut. There is only one narrow
aperture, big enough for the male to transfer food to the mother and eventually the chicks. The
function of this behaviour is apparently related to protecting the nesting site from rival
hornbills. The sealing can be done in just a few hours, at most it takes a few days. Having sealed the
nest it takes a further five days for the first egg to be laid. Clutch size varies from one or two eggs in
the larger species to up to eight eggs for the smaller species. During the incubation period the
female undergoes a complete and simultaneous moult. It has been suggested that the darkness of
the cavity triggers a hormone involved in moulting. When the chicks and the female are too big to
fit in the nest, the mother breaks out, then both parents feed the chicks. In some species the mother
rebuilds the wall, whereas in others the chicks themselves rebuild the wall unaided. The groundhornbills are conventional cavity-nesters instead.
Mrs. Porter-Kay: Life cycle information for rainforest animals 17/11/13