White-handed gibbons can be light or dark in color.

Age White-Handed Gibbons live to be about 30 years old in the wild, though captive gibbons live much longer. (A zoo-housed female recently died at age 56.)

Body Type: Long and lean with super-stretchy arms for brachiating. There are very few physical differences between male and female White-handed Gibbons. Individuals weigh somewhere between 10 and 20 pounds, with an average body length at a little less than two feet from head to rump. Tails are nonexistent, a trait shared by all apes. White-handed Gibbons can be highly variable in color, ranging from dark black to a reddish, sandy-blonde.

Sex Females generally do not begin reproducing until they are seven years old, while males mature earlier than do females, finishing up puberty at about five years of age.

Relationship Status White-Handed Gibbons are considered to be monogamous, living in family groups made up of one adult male, one adult female, and the partnership’s kiddos. Breeding and birthdays occur year-round, meaning that these joyous events aren’t restricted to a single time of the year.

Kiddos After a pregnancy lasting about seven months, females birth a single infant, although twins are sometimes born. Babies are not weaned until they are nearly two years old, but older youngsters will stay around their family group until they reach sexual maturity, upon which time they leave to find their own mates.

Political Views In terms of temperament, male and female White-Handed Gibbons tend to stay pretty low-key within their own family groups, with very low rates of aggression among family members. However, male and female partners will vigorously defend their shared territory from invaders, both through loud vocalizations and through physical interactions with neighboring groups and potential threats. Male and female pairs tend to be strongly bonded for life, and they maintain their closeness through lots of daily grooming and duetting, or synchronized singing. On occasion, due to unknown reasons, these bonds can fail, and male and female partners will split up to find new mates.

Family Life Family groups are small, with an average size of five individuals, but groups can grow up to 12, depending on the number of offspring and length of time that they remain with their parents.

Home Town Found high in the rain forest canopies in parts of Southeastern Asia, primarily on the islands of Burma, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula, with populations also ranging in areas of southern China, Thailand, and Laos. White-handed gibbons are currently listed by the IUCN as near threatened, due to deforestation of their habitat and individuals being killed by humans for bush meat or being captured to be sold as pets.

Oogivore type Primarily frugivores, feeding primarily on fruits such as ripe figs and liana fruit. White-Handed Gibbons also munch on leaves, insects, and flowers.

Locomotion Brachiation

Interests Mobbing predators such as large eagles, leopards, tigers, and snakes that get too close, harassing pig-tailed macaques that try to steal food, and resting comfortably upon ischial callosities during their down-time.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 at 12:56 pm and is filed under Primate of the Hump Day.