GIBBONS

Gibbons are apes in the family Hylobatidae.
Also called smaller apes or lesser apes, the Gibbon family is divided into 4 genera, with at least 20 species and at least 9 subspecies

CRESTED GIBBONS

Genus: Nomascus

Nomascus concolor

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

Black crested gibbons have lost 75% of their habitat to hunting and human encroachment, giving this small ape the unfortunate status of being one of the world’s most endangered primates. Today, the black crested gibbon survives in remote, largely inaccessible pockets of sub-tropical and montane evergreen…

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Photo credit: ©Zhao Cao. Seeking permissions.

Nomascus nasutus

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

The cao-vit gibbon is an ape species found primarily in the trees of a small forest on the border of northern Vietnam and southeast China. Cao-vit gibbons—sometimes known as eastern black-crested gibbons—have had a rough go of survival. Decades ago, the ape species covered an expansive forest east of the Red River throughout…

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Nomascus hainanus

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

With a total population of only 30 individuals, the Hainan gibbon is the world’s rarest ape and one of the world’s rarest mammals. Also known as the Hainan black-crested gibbon, until 2019, the species was restricted to just 0.77 sq mi (2 sq km), as reported in 2017, within the Bawangling National Nature Reserve on the western side of Hainan Island in the South China

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Photo credit: ©lappuggla/ iNaturalist/Creative Commons

Nomascus funereus

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

The northern gray gibbon, also known as the eastern gray gibbon or the North Bornean gray gibbon, is endemic to Borneo—the third largest island in the world and shared by three countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. This species lives in select areas of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia, as well as in Kalimantan in…

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Nomascus leucogenys

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

The northern white-cheeked gibbon is today found only in northwestern Vietnam and northern Laos. A small population was recorded in southern China as recently as the 1980s, but more recent surveys have failed to find any trace of them in the area; they are therefore now considered extinct in China. They inhabit both…

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Photo credit: F.Spangenberg/Creative Commons

Nomascus siki

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

Southern white-cheeked gibbons are primarily found in southern Laos and north-central Vietnam, east of the Mekong River. There is an overlap between the ranges of southern white-cheeked gibbons and northern white-cheeked gibbonsThey prefer lowland broadleaf evergreen and karst forests and live at elevations around…

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Photo credit: F.Spangenberg/Creative Commons

Nomascus siki

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

Southern white-cheeked gibbons are primarily found in southern Laos and north-central Vietnam, east of the Mekong River. There is an overlap between the ranges of southern white-cheeked gibbons and northern white-cheeked gibbonsThey prefer lowland broadleaf evergreen and karst forests and live at elevations around…

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Nomascus gabriellae

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

The yellow-cheeked gibbon is known by many names, including the gold-, red-, or buff-cheeked gibbon. They live in the tropical jungles of southern Lao People’s Democratic Republic, southern Vietnam, and southeastern parts of the Kingdom of Cambodia. As this species is not yet thoroughly researched, the full extent of its…

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DWARF GIBBONS

Genus: Hylobates

Hylobates agilis

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

The agile gibbon, also called the black-handed gibbon or the dark-handed gibbon, is endemic to Sumatra, Indonesia, Peninsular Malaysia, and southern Thailand. This region offers tropical rainforests that range from swamp and lowland forests to hill, submontane, and montane forest, and which are the preferred habitats of…

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Hylobates muelleri

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

The Bornean gibbon, also known as the grey gibbon or Müller’s gibbon, is endemic to the island of Borneo, which is split between the nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. They occur throughout southeast Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the island, compromising 73% of the island’s area. The southwest region of the…

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Hylobates albibarbis

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

The Bornean white-bearded gibbon, also known as the Bornean agile gibbon or southern gibbon, is found across the southwest of the island of Borneo, in the Central Kalimantan and West Kalimantan provinces. They inhabit a range of primary, secondary, and selectively logged tropical evergreen forest types, with…

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Hylobates klossii

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

The Kloss’s gibbon, also known as the Mentawai gibbon, the dwarf siamang or the bilou, is native to the four Mentawai Islands of Siberut, Sipora, North and South Pagai. These islands are in Southeast Asia, off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Annual rainfall on these islands can reach 157 inches (4m). These are…

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Hylobates pileatus

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

The pileated gibbon, also known as the capped or crowned gibbon, is a native of the southeast Asian countries of Thailand, Cambodia, and a small portion of Laos. They live in lush seasonal evergreen and mixed deciduous-evergreen forests, up to elevations of about 4,900 feet (1,500 m). They prefer old-growth forests with…

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Hylobates moloch

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

The silvery gibbon, also known as Javan gibbon, Moloch gibbons, and locally as owa jawa, is very rare and endangered. The species is confined to 29 fragmented forested areas in western and central Java. The largest populations are found in the lowland and lower montane rainforest in the west, at altitudes below 5,000-6,000…

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Hylobates lar

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

White-handed gibbons, also known as lar gibbons, live in the tropical rainforests of southern and Southeast Asia. Of all the gibbon species, white-handed gibbons inhabit the greatest north-south range. They make their homes in the countries of Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Scientists speculate on the…

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HOOLOCK GIBBONS

Genus: Hoolock

Hoolock leuconedys

CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE

Eastern hoolock gibbons live in the forests between the Chindwin and Irrawady Rivers that flow through the northern half of Myanmar. Eastern hoolock gibbon groups keep extensive home ranges. As such, these apes make use of a number of forest habitats, including scrub, semi-deciduous and broadleaf forests. Primary…

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Hoolock tianxing

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

Skywalker hoolock gibbons, also known by their less galactic (and definitely less Hollywood blockbuster-inspired) name of Gaoligong hoolock gibbons, are lesser apes native to the countries of China and Myanmar. In China, these primates are found in western Yunnan Province in the Nujiang River Valley (known locally as…

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Hoolock hollock

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

Western Hoolock gibbons, also known as white-browed gibbons, are the only apes that live in the Indian sub-continent. They thrive in the dense forests that extend from east of the Brahmaputra River in northeast India, through Bangladesh, and into western Myanmar. There may be some populations living in extreme south…

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SIAMANG

Genus: Symphalangus

Symphalangus syndactylus

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

The siamang is found in the mountain and lowland forests on Sumatra (the westernmost island of Indonesia), Malaysia, and small parts of Thailand. Despite being the largest of the “lesser apes”, siamang families cover only about 50 to 60 acres of territory, particularly areas rich in leaves and figs. Like all gibbons, they…

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