White-Handed Gibbon

Just monkeying around? Not gibbons! These primates are apes, not monkeys. One easy way to tell is that they don’t have a tail. They do have strong, hook-shaped hands and long arms that help them move from branch to branch by swinging hand-over-hand, making them among nature’s best acrobats. They can reach 35 miles per hour and span gaps of 50 feet in a single swing!

Did you know gibbons can sing? Males and their female partner call together for 10 minutes or more each day to claim their territory and communicate with their family. Gibbon parents stay together with their young, which are born every 3–4 years. Young gibbons stay with their parents for up to 7 years. Gibbons live to be more than 40 years old.