328 
Auflfenberg 
Figure 17. Male (19W) mounting female (23W) as part of the ritualized courtship sequence apparently 
intended to reinforce the pair bond (see text). 
body between her body and 
the ground surface. 
15:02 19W scratches 23W on the 
back so hard with his left 
front foot that he pulls her 
to him. He clambers over her 
back, and they both feed on 
the carcass. He scratches her 
on her hip with his snout, tries 
to stick his head underneath 
her belly again, scratches her 
on the side of her face with 
his right foot, licks the side of 
her face a number of times 
and then both eat together. . . . 
Successful copulation in these two speci- 
mens during late June to early October was 
preceded by similar courtship behavior. How- 
ever, on one of the frequent mountings, 
copulation occurred when the female raised 
the base of her tail. This was followed by 
a rapid tail twist by the male, who placed 
his cloaca in contact with hers and began a 
short period of feeble thrusting. They re- 
mained in this posture approximately 12 
minutes. 
The feeding territorial behavior of a domi- 
nant male ora, such as 19W, may complicate 
the process of pairing and mating by intro- 
ducing an element of hostility. The first re- 
action of such a male to a female is usually 
aggressive, since in the usual territorial con- 
text she is an intruder into an ill-defined 
