Gibbons in Zoos

RatioTile

RatioTile

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Of the 18 or so species of gibbon, only a handful are really common in zoos worldwide (Lar, yellow-cheeked, and siamang). I've also seen northern white-cheeked and Müeller's gibbons. I'm wondering how many of the rest are kept, and where they are. Looking at ZooChat galleries it appears that a lot of gibbon diversity is kept in China and Indonesia. Which gibbon species have you seen?
 
Depends on how the species are broken down now but I think most noticeable omission I have not seen is Hoolock gibbon, although these are seen in zoos esp in asia.

UK has a good mix or did, depending on whats happened to Twycross zoos diverse collection.

The following are or have been kept within the UK, and probably more besides (depending on how species are now split).

Agile
Lar
Pileated
Siamang
Northern white cheeked
Southern white cheeked
Buff cheeked
Kloss (Twycross previously kept them)
Hoolock (London previously kept them)
Moloch
 
Hainan also previously for Twycross.

Hoolocks are common in Chinese zoos. There is a lack of clarity about which though, since they are always signed as Eastern but in fact many are actually Skywalker.
 
I have seen siamang, northern and southern white-cheeked, golden-cheeked, agile, Bornean white-bearded, silvery, pileated, lar and all three of the suggested taxa that fall under Hylobates muelleri (muelleri, abbotti and funereus). So the only major groups I'm missing taxa from are the black crested (hainanus, nasutus and concolor) and hoolock (hoolock, leuconedys and tianxing), as well as the Kloss' and northern buff-cheeked gibbons
 
ShonenJake13 said:
I have seen siamang, northern and southern white-cheeked, golden-cheeked, agile, Bornean white-bearded, silvery, pileated, lar and all three of the suggested taxa that fall under Hylobates muelleri (muelleri, abbotti and funereus). So the only major groups I'm missing taxa from are the black crested (hainanus, nasutus and concolor) and hoolock (hoolock, leuconedys and tianxing), as well as the Kloss' and northern buff-cheeked gibbons
Click to expand...
Wowee! What zoos were they at?
 
RatioTile said:
Wowee! What zoos were they at?
Click to expand...

A lot of those I've seen at multiple zoos but as far as firsts go:

Siamang = Monkey World
Golden-cheeked gibbon = London Zoo
Northern white-cheeked gibbon = London Zoo
Southern white-cheeked gibbon = Vallee des Singes
Agile = Monkey World
Bornean white-bearded = Matang Wildlife Centre
Silvery = Howletts
Pileated = Twycross
Lar = London Zoo
Muelleri = Monkey World
Abbottii = Paignton
Funereus = Monkey World
 
I've seen a northern white-cheeked gibbon at the Denver Zoo, and a lar gibbon at the Reid Park Zoo.
 
I remember that Twycross Zoo (UK) used to boast that they held six of the nine known gibbon species... How times have changed! :eek:

Incidentally I've seen a lot of gibbon species, don't have a list but it includes whatever Twycross held between 1992 and about 2009.
 
Lar, Northern White-Cheeked, and Siamang are the most common that I have seen in the United States, but I've also seen Buff-Cheeked at Cincinnati.
 
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