Gibbons

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION: Gibbons make up the family Hylobatidae and genus Hylobates. The silvery gibbon is classified as Hylobates moloch, the whitehanded gibbon as Hylobates lar. The siamang is classified as Hylobates syndactylus.

HABITAT: The gibbons are represented by about 9 different species in southern China, the Malay Peninsula, Java, Borneo, and Sumatra.

DESCRIPTION:The gibbon is a slender animal with a small, round head and soft, woolly fur. They have exceptionally long arms, which they use to swing on limbs and vines, a great advantage for traveling in the dense upland forests where most species occur. They are the smallest and most agile of the apes. A large gibbon stands 75 to 90 cm high. They are the only anthropoid apes to walk on their hind legs

Siamangs are the largest gibbons. They have jet-black skin and hair, and a bright-red sac beneath the chin. In the jungle they rarely descend to the ground, being thoroughly at home in the upper canopy of trees where they swing, jump, and run among the highest limbs. The throat sacs are used to make low hooting sounds.They are usually quiet during the day but individuals join together and have a roaring chorus frequently at dawn and dusk.

The young ones remain with the family until they are five or six years old. The animals eat leaves, fruit, flower parts, insects, spiders, birds, and birds' eggs. They are usually quiet during the day but commonly howl at sunrise and in late afternoon.