A critically endangered cao vit gibbon, a subspecies of the eastern black crested gibbon, in the new Bangliang Cao Vit Gibbon Nature Reserve. Photo by: Zhao Chao, FFI.By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com
September 19, 2010

It’s not easy to be a gibbon: although one of the most acrobatic, fast, and marvelously loud of the world’s primates, the gibbon remains largely unknown to the global public and far less studied than the world’s more ‘popular’ apes. This lack of public awareness, scientific knowledge, and, thereby, conservation funding combined with threats from habitat loss to hunting to the pet trade have pushed seven gibbon species, known as ‘crested’, to the edge of extinction according to scientists attending the 23rd Congress of the International Primatological Society. “The crested gibbons are the most threatened group of primates and all species require urgent attention to save them from extinction”, Thomas Geissmann, gibbon expert from Zurich University and advisor with Fauna & Flora International (FFI), said in a statement Gibbons, who spend their lives in trees, have been dubbed the ‘lesser apes’, for while gibbons do not have a tail like other ape species—gorillas, chimps, and orangutans—they share some other characteristics with monkeys. The seven gibbon species of concern inhabit regions east of the Mekong, including Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China. The situation is bleakest for the eastern black crested gibbon. This species is not only the world’s most endangered gibbon, but likely the most endangered primate. Split into two subspecies—the cao vit and the Hainan—the eastern black crested gibbon has in total just over 100 individuals surviving. Only 20 or so Hainan gibbons survive in China, while the cao vit gibbon is faring just a little better. … 

Scientists warn little known gibbons face immediate extinction