Western Hoolock Gibbon Hoolock hoolock

Western Hoolock Gibbon Hoolock hoolock

Endangered

Bangladesh, India, Myanmar

Existence uncertain: China

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Energetic and social Western Hoolock Gibbons live in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Known for their close-knit families and melodious singing, they are endangered from palm oil deforestation, timber deforestation, human persecution and illegal poaching. Help them every time you shop by boycotting palm oil in the supermarket. #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife

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The Hoolock Gibbons are three species located in South Central Asia. They are the second largest of the gibbons after the Siamang. They have rings around their eyes and mouths giving them a mask-like appearance. Like other gibbon species they call to each other in regionalised accents, have long swinging arms and superior acrobatic skills.

The Western Hoolock Gibbon is a forest-dweller that, depending on its locale, inhabits tropical evergreen rainforests, tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, tropical mixed deciduous forests, and subtropical broadleaf hill forests. It has also been noted in bamboo “brakes” and hollock (Terminalia myriocarpa) and ajhar (Largerstroemia flosreginae) plantations. One gibbon pair in the Borajan Reserved Forest (north-east India) was observed to habitually descend from the trees to move over scrub and short bamboo especially while trying to reach the isolated food trees inside a village. This pair was found sleeping at heights of 0 m or less in bamboo clumps (Kakati 1997).

Although gibbons may be moving through, or sleeping in, bamboo forest or plantations, they cannot survive in monocultures such as palm oil (W. Brockleman pers. comm.)

IUCN Red List

The Western Hoolock Gibbon remains Endangered, based upon a suspected population reduction of at least 50% over the period of three generations (2001-2015, 2016-2030 and 2031-2045), based on ongoing and significant levels of forest loss in Bangladesh, northeastern India and Myanmar, combined with ongoing and similarly significant levels of subsistence hunting and live capture for the pet trade throughout the species’ range.

Affecting all northeastern Indian primate populations are harvesting of bamboo for paper mills, oil mining and exploration, and coal mining, which deplete habitat and cause pollution and disturbance (Choudhury 1991). Habitat fragmentation and loss are major threats in India (Kakati 2000).

IUCN Red List

How to easily identify gibbons by Noah RNS Shepherd

Support the conservation of this species

WCS Myanmar

Further Information

Brockelman, W, Molur, S. & Geissmann, T. 2019. Hoolock hoolock. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T39876A17968083. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T39876A17968083.en. Downloaded on 06 February 2021.

Sustain Round Glass: Hoolock Gibbons

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