Black crested gibbon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Black crested gibbonTemporal range: Pleistocene to Recent
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Nomascus
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concolor
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Hylobates concolor |
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The black crested gibbon (Nomascus concolor) is a type of gibbon that is Critically Endangered, meaning it's at a very high risk of disappearing forever. These amazing apes live in the forests of China, Laos, and northern Vietnam. There are four different kinds, or subspecies, of black crested gibbons.
Contents
About Black Crested Gibbons
What They Look Like
Black crested gibbons are about 43 to 54 centimeters (17 to 21 inches) long, which is roughly the length of a ruler. They weigh between 6.9 to 10 kilograms (15 to 22 pounds).
One cool thing about them is that males and females look different! This is called sexual dichromatism. Male gibbons are completely black. Female gibbons are golden or buff-colored, and they often have black patches, including a black stripe on their head.
How They Live
Black crested gibbons are forest animals. They are famous for swinging through the trees using their long arms. This way of moving is called brachiation. They can also walk upright, both on the ground and in the trees.
These gibbons usually live in small family groups. Most groups have a male and a female who stay together, along with their babies and younger gibbons. Sometimes, a group might have one male and a few females with their young. They spend most of their time high up in the trees, where they look for food and sleep.
Every morning, the male and female gibbons sing loud songs together. These "duets" echo through the forest! Scientists believe these songs help the pair stay close and also tell other gibbon groups that this area is already taken. A female gibbon usually has one baby every two to three years, and the baby drinks milk from its mother until it's about two years old.
What They Eat
Black crested gibbons love to eat ripe, sweet fruits, especially figs. They also eat vitamin-rich leaf buds. They rarely eat animals.
Their Amazing Songs
All gibbon species are known for their loud and long songs, which can last for 10 to 30 minutes! Black crested gibbons sing in the morning. Sometimes, the male starts the song, and the female joins in for a duet. They often choose the highest tree branches to sing from. These songs are important for many reasons, like protecting their home, finding a mate, and keeping their family group together.
Where They Live
The black crested gibbon lives in different areas across southwestern China, northwestern Laos, and northern Vietnam. Long ago, gibbons (possibly crested gibbons) lived in a much larger part of southern and central China.
The four different kinds of black crested gibbons live in separate places:
- The Tonkin black crested gibbon lives in southern China and northern Vietnam.
- The West Yunnan black crested gibbon lives in a small area near the border with Burma, in southwestern China.
- The Central Yunnan black crested gibbon lives in a small region around the Wuliang Mountains in west-central China.
- The Laotian black crested gibbon lives in northwestern Laos.
These gibbons live in tropical forests, including evergreen and deciduous forests, often in mountainous areas. They usually live at high altitudes, from 2,100 to 2,400 meters (about 6,900 to 7,900 feet) above sea level, where they find most of their food. In Vietnam and Laos, they can be found at lower altitudes, but in China, they have been seen as high as 2,689 meters (about 8,800 feet).
Protecting Them
The black crested gibbon is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. This means they are in serious danger of becoming extinct. Scientists estimate that only about 1,300 to 2,000 of these gibbons are left in the wild.
In China, black crested gibbons are considered very important for protecting biodiversity. However, even with protection, their numbers have gone down in some areas. One reason for this decline is that another type of monkey, the Gray langur, competes with them for food and space. Gray langurs have a wider variety of foods they can eat, live in larger groups, and have babies more often, which gives them an advantage.
Black crested gibbons live in forests that grow back very slowly, making it hard for different groups of gibbons to connect with each other. To help them, special "ecological corridors" (like natural bridges or pathways) have been built in China. These corridors help different gibbon groups meet, which can make them healthier and reduce the risk of them disappearing.
