Nature
2022.10.24 16:42 GMT+8

International Gibbon Day: Learn more to protect more

Updated 2022.10.24 16:42 GMT+8
CGTN

International Gibbon Day is celebrated on October 24 every year. It originated in 2015 when the IUCN Primate Specialist Group established the day as a commemoration to draw public attention to gibbon protection.

China has six species of gibbons out of the 20 currently living across the world. In 2017, a new member, the skywalker hoolock gibbon, was added to the Chinese "gibbon family." It is also called Tianxing in Chinese, which means to constantly strive to become stronger, and was officially named by Chinese scientists in January 2017.

Adult skywalker gibbons are 60 to 90 centimeters in length. When they are young, skywalker gibbons have hair similar in color to that of their mothers. By age six or seven, the males will slowly change to the color of their fathers, while the females will maintain the color of their mothers' bodies. However, the reproductive ability of skywalker gibbons is low, with only one litter being born in four to five years.

The animal lives in a small area in southwest China's Yunnan Province, and its population is less than 150. Since 2019, people have been trained to patrol the main habitats of the skywalking gibbons to monitor their activities and prevent them from being harmed. More efforts have been invested in their habitat restoration to encourage the exchange among different gibbon families.

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