Copulation, Copulation, Copulation!

I have a gift. Seriously … I think that if primatology were a form of superhero-ism, this would probably my one and only special ability; my “super power”. Somehow, during observations on colobus monkeys, I’m often present during, and I’m frequently able to spot, monkey sex! I know, I know. It is incredible! Before you pin me as some kind of a weird pervert, let me explain a bit. Seeing monkey sex is not as common as one might think; they are usually rare events! Seeing copulations in the ursine colobus at BFMS is quite exciting for any researcher working here. Also, I don’t just see the odd ‘sexual present’ and ‘attempt mount’. I am often a witness to all the exciting stuff. It all started two years ago when I was an undergrad on my field school. I saw several sexual acts in the colobus monkey groups I was watching. Each time I would yell out to everyone excitedly “Copulation, copulation people, copulation!”. Apparently I had done this so many times back then and with so much gusto that even years later the local Ghanaian guides who annually help out with the field school still make fun of me for it (endearingly of course). Lol
A few days ago I was watching groups Wawa and Splinter during an inter-group encounter (that’s when two separate groups meet on the boundary between their two home ranges and contest – sometimes aggressively but often peacefully – over the area). During this time, I saw the mother of all copulations. It was like a massive foursome (or fifthsome (?) depending on which individuals you count in). I saw ET, a young Splinter male, leave the core of his group to approach Haleakala, a young Wawa female. She sexually presented to him, he mounted and her and thrust several times. I even saw the ejaculate when the deed was completed (ET was sort of messy I guess…). Of course that I announced what I was watching to all of the field school students and Ghanaian field guides in the immediate area “Copulation, copulation, copulation!”. Right after this first sexual act, Glassjaw, the alpha male of Wawa, in an attempt to keep ET away from his female, attacked ET and chased him off violently. There were branches breaking and grunts and screams and all. Several minutes later ET went for Haleakala again and the process was more or less repeated. Then, Wolverine, the alpha male of Splinter approached Haleakala, mounted her, and thrust several times. This time, a young juvenile male from Wawa approached the two monkeys doing the deed and proceeded to harass them (i.e. making lots of vocalizations, pulling their tails, and jumping on their heads and backs). After finally clueing in, Glassjaw, who is apparently not the brightest monkey in the jungle, attacked Wolverine and the two fought aggressively, as if they had both been trained in street style boxing or dirty Mafia fighting! After all that, Wolverine didn’t give up, because several minutes later, he went for Haleakala again. They had a short monkey love session, which was interrupted again by Glassjaw, who tried a little harder this time to coerce Haleakala back with the rest of the group. The whole thing was fascinating to watch and incredibly exciting Ad lib data.