Lying in the southernmost part of China, Hainan Province is the only home to the Hainan black-crested gibbon. So far, the number of the world's rarest primate has reached 36 in five groups, seeing consecutive growth for the past years.

The male is completely black and the female has bright golden hair with a black crest on the head to match with its male counterpart.

Early morning, their harmonious duets echo in the lush rainforests of the Bawangling National Nature Reserve. The male leads the call and its howling sound travels in the forest up to several kilometers. Then the females and youngsters join in with their low chattering.

Listening to the calls of these gibbons is the main method for researchers to identify and quantify the gibbon population here. These gibbons are timid and vigilant animals, so it is extremely hard to observe them up close.

At the end of 2021, a project under the Tech4Nature partnership was co-launched by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Huawei and Hainan National Park Research Institute to explore how digital technologies can bring new stimulus to restore the gibbon's population.

Tech4Nature is a global partnership to scale up success in nature conservation through digital technology innovation, according to the official website.

A solution comprising wireless connectivity, cloud storage and AI analytics has been developed and deployed. Audio data from the devices is sent back to the cloud 24/7 in real time for analysis by AI. 

With algorithms trained to identify gibbon calls already reporting a recognition accuracy of 89.2 percent, a unique voice ID for individual gibbons will be finally established.

"Science and technology can greatly improve the availability and timeliness of data and information, and provide more possibilities, opportunities and innovations for nature conservation," said Wang Jichao, vice president of Hainan National Park Research Institute.

About 'Fantastic Species in Hainan' series:

The annual Boao Forum for Asia will soon be held in Bo'ao, south China's Hainan Province. Among the topics discussed will be "green development," which cannot be achieved without ecological protection. Hainan has the best preserved and largest contiguous tropical rainforest in the country, home to numerous creatures unique to the province. This series dives into Hainan, leading the audience to learn more about how the amazing species thriving here under the great protection efforts form all walks of life.

(Cover image design by CGTN's Yu Peng)

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