Yellow-cheeked gibbon Nomascus gabriellae
A master of swinging... and singing!
The yellow-cheeked gibbon in a nutshell
- eats
- fruit and leaves
- inhabits
- Cambodia and South Vietnam
- excels at
- singing
The yellow-cheeked gibbon lives with its mate among the tall trees and abundance of greenery of the tropical rainforest.
Singing
Gibbons ‘sing’ loudly by inflating their throat pouch, which then acts as a sound box and amplifies the sound even more. Young male gibbons often try to attract a female by singing. If successful, the pair remain together for the rest of their lives, singing beautiful duets. Gibbons use their singing to mark their territory. The dominant female utters a ‘great call’: a series of loud, increasingly rapid tones that can be heard as far as a kilometre away through the forest. Each gibbon species has its own song, and accents have even been identified within species! Researchers recorded more than 400 gibbon songs to discover this. Just as humans each have their own voice, every gibbon's call is unique to them. However, researchers also found that the more northern and southern gibbon groups differed in their calls.
Great apes
Did you know that gibbons are great apes? You might not think so at first glance, but because they lack a tail, and have a wide, barrel-shaped chest and a larger brain, these somewhat small apes are included among the great apes.
Tree dweller
Gibbons in the wild never come to the ground unless they cannot find food in the trees. They much prefer to spend their lives high in the treetops, and are supremely adapted for survival in this habitat. For example, they have long arms with hands shaped in a way that allows them to swing well. Gibbons also have very flexible shoulders and powerful legs, enabling them to reach high speeds when swinging from branch to branch (known as brachiation).
Endangered
The yellow-cheeked gibbon is listed as endangered because their habitat is shrinking due to palm oil plantations, deforestation and mining. This habitat loss makes it increasingly difficult for the gibbons to find enough food. They are also victims of poaching.
Coat colour
A newborn yellow-cheeked gibbon has a blond coat which turns black within a couple of months. The cheeks remain yellow, however. Males keep their black colour as they mature, but females turn back to blond upon reaching sexual maturity. Yellow-cheeked gibbons can reach a maximum age of 50 years.