White-handed gibbon

Jumping out of the trees from branch to branch!

The white-handed gibbon is distributed throughout the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.

Their elongated forelimbs, hands and feet are adaptations for brachiation, which is their primary mode of travel through the forest canopy. This method consists of moving by hanging and swinging with their arms, which allows them to save energy, since they pick up momentum and use the body like a pendulum. White-handed gibbons do not have tails.

It is a mostly monogamous species, depending on the size of the distribution region, living in groups of 2 to 6 members. The female gives birth to a single baby approximately every 3.5 years, gestation lasts 7 months and weaning takes about 20 months.

The major threats for which this species is endangered are deforestation and hunting by humans.

Selwo Aventura's gibbon group is part of the European Endangered Species Program (EEP) of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA).

Conservation status

Extinct

Extinct in the wild

Critically endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Near threatened

Least concern

Insufficient data

Not evaluated