Fun Facts!

Gibbons sing! They are born knowing the songs. The songs are always the same, and are inherited, not learned.

The gibbon's "whoop" call can be heard upt to a half a mile away.

The tough pads on their bottom provides some cushion as the gibbon doesn't sleep in a nest.

White-Handed Gibbon

Hylobates lar

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

The fur coloring of the white-handed gibbon , or lar gibbon, varies from black and dark brown to light sandy brown. Their hands and feet are white, and their black faces are surrounded by a ring of white hair. They have long hands and arms, and no tail, making them closer to an ape than a monkey. Unlike many species of animals throughout nature, male and female gibbons are the same in size and coloring.

HABITAT

Historically, white-handed gibbons are tree dwellers in the verdant forestlands from the southwest edge of China to eastern Myanmar to Thailand and Burma, and throughout the Malay Peninsula. They can also be found in the northwest portion of the island of Sumatra. In recent decades, their continental range has become reduced and fragmented, and they are no longer found throughout China in the wild.

DIET IN THE WILD

Primarily fruits and leaves, but will also eat buds, flowers, birds and insects.

BEHAVIOR

White-handed gibbons are diurnal (awake both day and night) and arboreal (tree-dwellers). They are family-territorial and will defend their squatting rights. White-handed gibbons are rarely seen on the ground. They swing from branch to branch in the trees of the forest. They are generally monogamous and territorial, warding off other gibbons with their song-like calls.

STATUS IN THE WILD / CONSERVATION EFFORTS

They are a threatened species and are protected in some Asian countries. White-handed gibbons are threatened in various ways, including hunting, the pet trade, and the loss of their natural habitat due to deforestation.

LIFE SPAN

They can live up to 25 years in the wild, and typically live from 30 to 50 years in captivity.