All posts tagged: gibbons

Scientists find largest number of endangered gibbons in Myanmar : Short Wave

Scientists find largest number of endangered gibbons in Myanmar : Short Wave

Published by skeptic

A skywalker gibbon is seen at the Gaoligong Mountain in China. The skywalker gibbon, a typical arboreal animal, is one of the national key protected wild animals, mainly found in Gaoligong Mountain. Xinhua News Agency/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Ima hide caption toggle caption Xinhua News Agency/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Ima A skywalker gibbon is seen at the Gaoligong Mountain in China. The skywalker gibbon, a typical arboreal animal, is one of the national key protected wild animals, mainly found in Gaoligong Mountain. Xinhua News Agency/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Ima In the green tree canopies of forested areas in Myanmar, you might wake up to the sounds of skywalker gibbons singing love songs. Gibbons start their day with passionate duets. Though these love songs may sound a little different than the ones you’ve added to playlists, they just helped researchers make a discovery. Until recently, scientists thought there were fewer than 200 of of these apes – all living in southwestern China. That changed with a new study published in the International Journal …

Scientists tracked the love songs of Skywalker gibbons to find them

Scientists tracked the love songs of Skywalker gibbons to find them

Published by skeptic

Scientists in Myanmar listened in on the love songs sung by Skywalker gibbons (Hoolock tianxing) to find the largest known population of the endangered primate. Every morning, skywalker gibbon couples will wake up and sing to each other, with their voices echoing across the forest canopies. The love songs helped scientists confirm a hunch that the southeast Asian nation has the world’s largest population of Skywalker gibbons. The discovery is described in a study published February 14 in the International Journal of Primatology. [Related: Primates have been teasing each other for 13 million years.] “We were able to genetically identify 44 new groups of Skywalker gibbons in Myanmar,” study co-author and University of California, Davis wildlife veterinarian and epidemiologist Tierra Smiley Evans said in a statement.  These primates are technically called Skywalker hoolock gibbons and were named by a group of Star Wars-loving scientists in 2017, after observing them in southwestern China. The gibbons are omnivores, but most of their diet comes from plants and not animals. According to the New England Primate Conservancy, figs …

Hope for rare singing gibbons as pair are released into the wild | Illegal wildlife trade

Hope for rare singing gibbons as pair are released into the wild | Illegal wildlife trade

Published by skeptic

The forest chorus of South Sumatra in Indonesia has some of its finest singers back: a pair of rare Siamang gibbons, rescued from the illegal pet trade, have been released into the wild. Siamang gibbons (Symphalangus syndactylus) are known for their distinctive large throat sacs. But their powerful, haunting voices, used for communication and marking territory, are a blessing and a curse. “Gibbons are one of the most popular primates for pets in the illegal wildlife trade and Siamangs are one of the biggest targets because of their beautiful forest singing,” said Made Wedana, country director for the Indonesia programme of the Aspinall Foundation wildlife charity. “All gibbons sing, but Siamangs are the loudest. They’re also very beautiful animals, and … very rare in the wild.” Gibbons are popular targets for the illegal wildlife trade, with Siamangs prized for their beauty and powerful singing voices. Photograph: The Aspinall Foundation Siamang gibbons are found in rainforests in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. But the illegal pet trade – alongside habitat loss from plantations, mining and logging – …