Common Name: Agile Gibbon Scientific Name: Hylobates agilis
LOWER RISK Agile Gibbon Distribution:
Agile gibbons are small apes and like all apes, including Chimpanzees and Gorilla they do not have a tail. A tail is one feature that makes it easy to tell the difference between apes and monkeys.
Southern Asia and Indonesia
Habitat: Tropical lowland forest
Height: Approx. 45cm
Weight: 5.5kg - 6.5kg
Diet: Omnivorous Fruit, leaves, insects.
Gibbons have long arms that they use to hang from branches and swing through trees. This swinging movement is called brachiation. Agile Gibbons have varied coat colours; from black to pale golden brown with white eyebrows and the males also have white furred cheeks. Agile Gibbons are found in South East Asia on the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. The live in tropical lowland forest, but also live in swamp forests. Like all gibbons, the main part of Agile Gibbons diet is fruit, but they also eat a lot of leaves. Flowers are enjoyed when they are in season and insects are eaten when they can be caught. Agile Gibbons live in monogamous pairs, which means that a male and a female live together and rear their offspring. Breeding occurs throughout the year but the exact length of pregnancy is unknown. Offspring live with their parents until they are around 8, when they leave to find a mate of their own. Each family lives on a territory of around 25 hectares (that’s about 25 football pitches!) and defends it from their neighbours through loud calling displays that are performed most mornings.