gibbon

There are nine species of these lesser, tail-less apes found in South East Asian rainforests and monsoon forests. They eat mainly fruit and move with great agility through the trees by swinging from branch to branch suspended by their long arms – this is known as brachiation. On stronger branches, gibbons will also walk in an upright posture. The largest gibbon, the siamang, may reach lengths of 90 cm/3 ft.

Any of a group of several small southern Asian apes. The common or lar gibbon (H. lar) is about 60 cm/2 ft tall, with a body that is hairy except for the buttocks, which distinguishes it from other types of apes. Gibbons have long arms and no tail. They spend most of their time in trees and are very agile when swinging from branch to branch. On the ground they walk upright, and are more easily caught by predators. (Genus Hylobates, including the subgenus Symphalangus.)

The siamang (S. syndactylus) is the largest of the gibbons, growing to 90 cm/36 in tall; it is entirely black. Gibbons are found from Assam through the Malay peninsula to Borneo, but are becoming rare, with certain species classified as endangered.