The highest-ranking females and her descendants are dominant over all other animals. Although all resident males have been observed to court females, only the highest ranking male usually mates. The one that wins keeps the other from nursing until it weakens and dies. Two to six weeks after whelping, young are transported to the communal den. Young depend entirely on milk for about 8 months and are not weaned until 12 to 16 months old.
Maturation is at three years, females later than males.
Life span in captivity as long as 35 years. Large amounts of androgens during fetal development cause a hypertrophied clitoris capable of elongation and erection and a fused labia forming a false scrotum. The vagina has merged with the urethra to form a common urogenital tract that makes a sharp bend and exits through the peniform clitoris. At puberty, the urethral opening splits. Copulation and birth are complicated because of this anatomy.