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Name || White-Cheeked Gibbon

Scientific Name || Hylobates (Nomascus) leucogenys

Conservation Status || Endangered

Habitat || Tropical rainforests of China, Vietnam and Laos.

Unique Features || Adult males are black with white cheeks, while females are a golden/buff colour. Social Behaviour || White cheeked gibbons live in monogamous (1 male 1 female) pairs for life. When the offspring are old enough they will leave the group and begin their own family group. Diet || Fruit, leaves, buds, some small invertebrates. Reproduction || A single baby is born after 7-8 months gestation. Females will have a baby about every two to three years. Life Cycle || The average lifespan for a white-cheeked gibbon is about 28 years. Relatives || Gibbons are smallest of the ape family, which includes orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees Interesting Facts : Infants are born a whitish buff colour, turning black when they are about a year old. Male babies will stay black for the rest of their lives, but females will turn golden again at about six-eight years when they reach maturity. White-cheeked gibbons are the most active of all gibbons; they move faster, more quietly, and farther each day than any other forest apes or monkeys. Brachiation (swinging arm over arm) comprises 90% of their activity and enables them to leap up to 30 feet between trees. Because they can not swim, they avoid crossing open water. Their remarkable agility makes a healthy adult gibbon virtually invulnerable to predation. The fur is extremely dense, providing protection from rain. One square centimetre of skin has over 2,000 individual hairs compared to 900 hairs per sq. cm. for old world monkeys. Gibbons are known for their dawn calling, which maintains pair bonds and warns neighbouring family groups from the family territory. At Wellington Zoo these duets consist of eerie howls and siren-like crescendos that can be heard all around the zoo and neighbouring suburbs. Breeding Programme || Wellington Zoo is a member of the Australasian Species Management Program (ASMP) which provides coordinated management and planning recommendations for species residing in the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria (ARAZPA) member institutions. Environmental Conditions || Rainforest clearance for logging and farming as well as military activities have impacted heavily on the natural habitiats that support the gibbons. Like many of the other primates, they are also captured when young and sold for pets. At Wellington Zoo || We have two White cheeked gibbons. Vilson was born at Melbourne Zoo (Australia) in 1987, and Robyn from Perth.  They live on an island in the middle of the Tropical River trail.

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