Fun Gibbon Facts For Kids

Have you ever heard about the smallest ape of the hylobatidae family native to Southeast Asia?

If yes, then you must be familiar with the name gibbon, and if you have heard this name for the first time then no need to worry because we are here with this article to help you learn more about the beautiful primate of the hylobatidae family.

Gibbon species apes are also the smallest you will come across compared to other species of ape.

Due to this reason, they are often referred to as lesser apes, although they aren't monkeys. But due to loss of habitat, these great apes are now critically endangered.

There are over 20 known species of gibbons divided into four genera, hoolock, hylobates, symphalangus, and nomascus. Most of the species are considered critically endangered.

Here are white handed gibbon facts for you to know.

There are various sub-species of this primate that are present in the forest regions of Asia including white cheeked gibbon, white handed gibbon, lar gibbon, blue gibbon, golden cheeked gibbon, black crested gibbons.

Gibbon locomotion is powered by the extensive range of shoulder motions and long arms that render great strength to gibbon skeleton and allow the primate to move around the forest at impressive speeds of up to 35 mph.

So, without wasting any time, let's begin. After exploring the white cheeked gibbon facts, golden cheeked gibbon facts, and lar gibbon facts, you may also look at information on great apes, including capuchin monkey facts and eastern lowland gorilla facts.

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Gibbon Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a gibbon?

Gibbons are the apes who belong to the hylobatidae family. The gibbons species are highly intelligent. These great apes can be found across southeast Asia including southern China and are divided into various genus and family groups.

What class of animal does a gibbon belong to?

A gibbon belongs to the mammal class of animals that can be found in Northeastern India to southern China . The four known genera of gibbons are hoolock (hoolock gibbons), hylobates (hylobates), symphalangus (siamangs) and nomascus (crested gibbons).

How many gibbons are there in the world?

There are said to be 30 gibbons left in the world, and due to this, they have been classified as critically endangered. Gibbons faced a huge decline in its population due to habitat destruction and illegal trading as pets. Gibbon Conservation Center in Santa Clarita, USA, is working on preserving and studying gibbons through natural habitat.

Where does a gibbon live?

Gibbons are found in the forests of southern, eastern parts of Asia such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Java, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sumatra, Thailand, and Vietnam. Black crested gibbons are native to southern China.

The Hainan gibbon is concentrated only to the Hainan Island in China. Hoolock gibbon is native to southeast Asia and India. These animals live in family groups that comprise of a pair and their offspring.

What is a gibbon's habitat?

Gibbons prefer to live in dense forests as there they can find abundant food and proper living space. The white cheeked gibbon species lives on trees, and most of their life passes on these trees.

Who do gibbons live with?

The white handed gibbons live in a group, and mostly all the members in this group are family members.

How long does a gibbon live?

The average lifespan of a gibbon is 30-35 years in the wild and 40-50 years in captivity.

How do they reproduce?

Gibbons are said to be monogamous animals which means that they mate for life with one partner only. The long term pair bonds usually last for the entire life. The females become sexually mature upon reaching the age of nine years.

In order to attract each other, the gibbon may sing songs. Once they have a partner, they mate with them and produce one offspring nearly after every three years. The gestation period of the female gibbons lasts for seven months.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of gibbons is currently not extinct. There are only 30 gibbons left in the world. Gibbons faced a huge decline in its population due to habitat destruction and illegal trading as pets.

Gibbon Fun Facts

What do gibbons look like?

Gibbons, family Hylobatidae, is said to be the smallest apes species. They are light in weight and have smaller bodies than other species of apes.

They have a small head, long hands and feet, and a slender body. The length of the arms of gibbons is bigger than its legs, and they have no tail.

Since there are different gibbon species, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between the male and female subspecies. For instance, it is difficult to differentiate between the male and female silvery gibbon because both have silver hair around their face.

How do they communicate?

In order to communicate with each other, gibbons make a soft call, termed as hoos. The hoos are nearly inaudible to humans. Their siamang comprises throat sacs which they use for communication. During vocalization, the throat sac inflates and can become as large as a grapefruit.

How big is a gibbon?

Gibbons are actually the smallest species of Ape. They are smaller than other species of Gibbons. Gibbons are usually 24-36 in long and 24-26 in tall.

How fast can a gibbon move?

Gibbons are fast movers, and they can have a moving speed of 35 miles per hour.

How much does a gibbon weigh?

The average weight of a gibbon is 13-19 lb.

What are their male and female names of the species?

There is no separate name allotted to their male and female species; they are simply referred to as male gibbon and female gibbon.

What would you call a baby gibbon?

There is no special name allotted to the baby gibbon. They can simply be called baby gibbon, gibbon ape offspring, or young gibbon.

What do they eat?

Gibbons are omnivores. Most of their diet consists of vegetarian materials like fruits and similar vegetation. They reside in the dense forests of southeastern Asian countries.

These tropical forests provide them with ample food sources to feed on. Gibbons are very choosy animals when it comes to food.

They prefer eating ripe fruits growing on tropical trees. In order to check the ripeness of the fruit, they take one bite from the fruit, and if the fruit is ripe, then they will consume it otherwise not. Apart from having fruits they also eat some flowers, insects and leafy plants.

Are they dangerous?

Gibbons are not very dangerous animals. They are quite friendly and wise apes who usually do not attack humans unless they feel threatened and scared.  And if in any rare case they attack any human, then there is hardly any chance of getting some serious injury because these great apes are less stronger than humans.

Would they make a good pet?

Black crested gibbons are actually good pets. They are friendly and wise apes who clear all the tests of becoming a good pet. But now, getting a gibbon is not easy as their population has decreased drastically.

Did you know...

Gibbons mate for life. They are one of the few apes species that are monogamous.

Gibbons are not monkeys. They are apes. They belong to the hylobatidae family and are considered lesser apes. The reason behind this is their smaller bodies.

This ape species is facing a major threat of being extinct and is now considered one of the most critically endangered primates species in the world. The reason behind this is habitat destruction and illegal trading as pets.

A gibbon can jump at a distance of 50 ft accompanied by an impressive speed of 35 miles per hour.

Gibbons are a highly intelligent species of Apes. They can recognize themselves in mirrors. And moreover then can sing. They communicate by using songs.

Can Gibbons swim?

Gibbons can't swim. Gibbons can be found spending the majority of their time on trees and they are never seen to be swimming in rivers and other water bodies. Moreover, they actually don't like deep waters, so they try to avoid coming near such deep waters unless it is very necessary.

What upward force must a branch provide to support the swinging gibbon?

These primates well known for its graceful and smooth swinging techniques. They can swing from trees effortlessly by using their long and strong arms.

Their swinging movement is termed as Brachiation. The Brachiation technique makes gibbon the fastest moving ape on this planet. They can move at a speed of 35 miles per hour, which is almost the same speed as that of a galloping horse.

In order to hop on to one branch from another, their four fingers present on their hands form a shape of a hook. This helps these primates to make a strong grip on the branches.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammal including Bornean orangutan, or Japanese macaque.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our gibbon coloring pages.