Apes

Gibbons (genus Hylobates) are the smallest members of the ape family. Gibbons are found in Southeast Asia, China, and India, and nine species are recognized. They spend most of their lives at the tops of trees in the jungle, eating leaves and fruit. They are extremely agile, swinging with their long arms on branches to move from tree to tree, and they often walk upright on tree branches. Gibbons are known for their loud calls and songs, which are used to announce their territory and warn away others. They are devoted parents, raising one or two offspring at a time and showing extraordinary affection in caring for them. Conservationists and biologists who have worked with gibbons describe them as extremely intelligent, sensitive, and affectionate.

Gibbons have long been hunted as food, for medical research, and for sale as pets and zoo specimens. A common method of collecting them is to shoot the mother and then capture the infant. The mortality rate in collecting and transporting gibbons to places where they can be sold is extremely high, and this coupled with the destruction of their jungle habitat has resulted in severe depletion of their numbers. Despite a ban on the international trade in gibbons (by CITES), illegal commerce, particularly of babies, continues in markets throughout Asia.