White-cheeked Gibbon

White-cheeked gibbons, also known as northern white-cheeked gibbons, white-cheeked crested gibbon are primates found in Southeast Asia. Their population is on a downward swing because of loss of habitat and persecution for food and traditional medicine.

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Scientific Classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	Hylobatidae
Genus:	Nomascus
Scientific Name:	Nomascus leucogenys

Table Of Content

Table of Contents

Scientific Classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	Hylobatidae
Genus:	Nomascus
Scientific Name:	Nomascus leucogenys

Table of Contents

White-cheeked Gibbon

Physical Description

Size: White-cheeked gibbons reach a length of 17.7-24.8 in (45-63 cm).

Weight: They weigh around 12.5 lb (5.7 kg) on average.

Color: They exhibit sexual dimorphism in color. The babies are born with a cream-colored fur, which turns black with a white patch on the cheeks when they reach 2 years of age. This further changes when they reach sexual maturity, wherein for the males the coat color stays the same while females revert to the original cream fur, with most of the white cheek patch becoming non-existent.

Distribution

They can be found in Vietnam and Laos.

Habitat

White-cheeked gibbons inhabit subtropical evergreen forests at elevations of 660-5,400 ft.

White-cheeked Gibbon Pictures

White-cheeked Gibbon Images

Behavior

They have an arboreal lifestyle and live primarily in forest canopies.
They live in social groups, usually consisting of an adult couple with their offspring. Hierarchy is led by the adult female, followed by her female and male offspring, respectively, with the adult male coming in last.
Most of their days are spent in social grooming and playing with each other.
They are diurnal, being most active during the day and sleep in the night on high branches, embracing each other tightly.
They are territorial and mark their zones throughout the day with vocalizations.

Diet

They are primarily frugivorous, spending most of their time in canopies foraging for food. Leaves, flowers, shoots, leaf buds and insects also form part of their diet.

Mating & Reproduction

The menstrual cycle for female White-cheeked gibbons lasts for 28 days, although they mate throughout the year. After fertilization, the gestation period lasts for about 7 months, after which a single offspring is born.

White-cheeked Gibbon Female

White-cheeked Gibbon Baby

Life-cycle

The baby clings to its mother from birth up to about 2 years of age after which it is weaned. Both the parents usually take care of the infant. The young becomes independent when they are 3 years old, and sexually mature at 6.

Lifespan

They have an average lifespan of around 28 years in the wild.

Sounds & Communication

Both genders of white-cheeked gibbons partake in duet songs, wherein the female starts off a tune in an increasing pitch, followed by the male who joins in, and this lasts between 5 to 17 minutes. Sometimes both genders make similar calls, with the young of the group also joining in. Males can make booming calls because of their gular sacs.

Adaptation

Being brachiators, their hands are specially adapted so that they don’t grasp the branches while swinging from one to another; instead, they form a loose hook around the branches which helps them in the swinging. Their hands are also long, and the arms elongated, further facilitating the swinging motion.

Predators

Birds of prey like owls and eagles, as well as leopards, can prey on white-cheeked gibbons. However, because of their vigilance, swiftness in motion and arboreal lifestyle usually keeps the safe.