White-cheeked Gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) lives in tropical rainforest across Southeast Asia. It feeds on fruits and leaves. Its conservation status is Critically Endangered.
Fascinating facts about the White-cheeked Gibbon
- Only a handful of groups remain: 57 groups were counted in Laos's Nam Et-Phou Louey park in 2019, while Vietnam hosts at least 22 groups in Pù Mát and a booming 64 groups with 182 individuals in Xuan Lien reserve as of 2020, up from just 41 groups and 127 individuals recorded in 2011. Those numbers show a fragile recovery in some pockets, underscoring how every lost group pushes the whole species closer to extinction.
- Their arms are built for the sky: the gibbon's forelimbs measure 1.2 to 1.4 times the length of its hind-limbs, a proportion that exceeds even other gibbons. Muscles in the thighs and shoulders are especially heavy, giving them greater bodily strength for swinging.
- Their duets sound like a symphony: a female launches a series of 15 to 30 notes that rise in pitch, then a male answers with a rapid, frequency-modulated call. Each cycle lasts under 20 seconds but repeats for five to 17 minutes, growing louder each round. These elaborate songs cement pair bonds and signal territory.
- Reproduction runs on a tight clock: females cycle every 22 days, gestation lasts 200-212 days, and newborns weigh about 480 g (17 oz). Offspring reach sexual maturity at seven or eight years, and wild individuals have been recorded living at least 28 years.
- Mining threatens their home: the Nam Xam National Biodiversity Conservation Area on the Laos-Vietnam border, a refuge for the critically endangered gibbon, sits amid a surge of rare-earth mines, 27 identified since 2022, with 23 inside protected zones. In 2024, cyanide and acidic spills in Laos's Houaphanh and Luang Prabang provinces killed fish in rivers.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeSoutheast Asia
HabitatTropical rainforest
DietFruits and leaves
About the White-cheeked Gibbon
In the lush, emerald canopies of Southeast Asia's ancient forests, the white-cheeked gibbon embodies a symphony of elegance and agility, its slender form swooping effortlessly through the trees with a mesmerizing grace. As it moves, its haunting melodies echo through the mist-shrouded valleys, a poignant reminder of the beauty and fragility of this critically endangered species. With each soaring leap, the gibbon seems to defy gravity, its very existence a testament to the awe-inspiring wonders that still await us in the unspoiled depths of our planet's most threatened ecosystems.
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