Siamang gibbon (Hylobates syndactylus)

Fact File:

• Noah's Ark is home to a family of gibbons, part of the EEP for Siamangs: dad Samson, mum Salome and infant Sultana.
• Siamang gibbons are arboreal (tree-dwelling) primates from southeast Asia; their natural rainforest habitats are forest regions in Malaysia, Thailand and Sumatra.
  
• Classified as 'Threatened' on the IUCN Red List (2008)
  
• The Palm Oil trade and further habitat destruction has caused huge losses to wild populations. The illegal pet trade has also added to the Gibbons vulnerability.
  
• They are the largest of the 13 species of gibbon, and the darkest of all, with shaggy black hair.
  
• They are also the loudest of the gibbons, with a call that can be heard 6.5km away. This is due to an inflatable air sac in their throat.
  
• Siamang gibbons are highly acrobatic, and swing through the trees (known as brachiating) using their long-fingered hands.
  
• Two fingers on each hand are fused together.
  
• They can live for up to 30-40 years.

Why are Siamang gibbons endangered?

Sadly, Siamang gibbons are becoming increasingly rare in the wild, and it is not known exactly how many are left.

The major threat is human activity. As human populations increase, land is cleared to make way for agriculture and the expansion of cities. Huge plantations of palm oil have replaced much of the original rainforest in Malaysia and Indonesia, leaving the Siamang gibbon with little remaining habitat. Even the construction of roads is a problem, fragmenting the forest into small patches and limiting the range of the gibbons, which can only move from one tree to another.

The Siamang gibbon is not hunted for meat in Indonesia, but is taken instead for the illegal pet trade. Poachers take only infant gibbons, but often kill the mother in the process as they are strongly protective of their young. Many of the young gibbons do not survive.

How can we help?

Noah's Ark Zoo Farm is home to a pair of Siamang gibbons that arrived in April 2007 and their recent baby. The male is called Samson, the female Salome and the infant; Sultana. They are part of the EEP for Siamang Gibbons.

Sultana is now over a year old and doing very well - this is no trivial occurance, as breeding in captivity can be very difficult. This is a great success for Noah's Ark and for the wider zoo community, helping to bolster the numbers of endangered gibbons cared for in captivity.

Primates are the most intelligent of the non-human animals and gibbons require a thoughtful approach to be taken by our keepers in designing a suitable living environment and daily feeding regime to keep them fit and healthy. We have used various enrichment tools to keep the gibbons active and inquisitive and encourage them to use their natural agility in play and foraging. We have special feeding logs where nutritious items can only be retrieved using some cunning and logic, and some very manipulative fingers! Ropes and tyres are used to provide a good aerial network which will mimic something of an arboreal canopy, like the branches of trees in a rainforest.

Although we can't re-create a complete forest habitat, we can give these animals a good, clean, interactive home in which the public can learn about a very unique species to the benefit of gibbon conservation and charitable financial support.