White-handed gibbon

Status

Endangered

Classification

Mammal

Exhibit

PECO Primate Reserve

One of the World's Best Acrobats

Among the most agile animals on the planet, white-handed gibbons move easily through the trees in the forests of southeast Asia by swinging hand over hand with their body suspended below, a movement called brachiation.

Singing Together

Gibbon pairs engage in loud and beautiful songs, with the male and female each having a distinct part in the "duet". These and other loud calls serve to advertise that the area is already occupied by a bonded pair.

Typically living in small family groups comprised of one breeding pair, and their offspring, each family group lives in a defined area. Gibbons defend their areas from neighboring gibbon groups by displaying at or chasing their rivals, but physical fights are rare.