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Feb 24, 2023
5:03 AM
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Habitat and diet
The northern white-cheeked gibbon can still be found in the evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of Vietnam, Laos, and China. Home ranges can be as large as a hundred acres, and the gibbons might travel up to a mile per day.
While not much is known about this gibbon species, scientists believe the animals’ diet consists mainly of fruit. Flowers, leaves, and insects may also make up a proportion of their meals.
Social structure
Northern white-cheeked gibbons maintain small family groups consisting of two adults and their offspring. Females give birth to a single baby once every two to three years, after a seven-month pregnancy, or gestation period.
5120x1440p 329 gibbon background
When they are first born, baby gibbons cling tightly to their mother’s midsection, almost like a belt. This allows the female to hold the baby while sitting with her knees up—a typical gibbon squatting posture. Later, the little ones will use their long arms to wrap around the mother’s chest.
Like human babies, northern white-cheeked gibbons require a lot of care from their parents. After three years, the young can survive on their own, but they do not reach sexual maturity until six years of age. Offspring typically leave their family group at about eight to 10 years of age, at which point they will set off in search of their own territory and mate.
Threats to survival
As far as natural predators, it’s suspected that the northern white-cheeked gibbon’s habit of remaining in the treetops protects it from hungry mouths on the forest floor. Birds of prey, however, may represent a significant threat from above.
More troubling, though, is the danger posed by deforestation. Much of the northern white-cheeked gibbon’s former habitat has been cut down to be burned for fuel or converted into timber products. Land clearing for agricultural use also jeopardizes the species’ habitat.
Finally, northern white-cheeked gibbons are also hunted for food or for use in traditional medicine, which scientists say is likely the primary cause of decline for the species.
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