Behavior
Gibbons are social animals. They are strongly territorial, and defend their boundaries with vigorous visual and vocal displays. The vocal element, which can often be heard for distances of up to 1 km, consists of a duet between a mated pair, with their young sometimes joining in. In most species, males, and in some also females, sing solos to attract mates, as well as advertise their territories. If a male and female like each other's song, they will find the other gibbon and do a short mating dance followed by a vigorous mating ritual that lasts three days, and they will mate about five hundred times in this time period. The songs can make them an easy find for poachers who engage in the illegal wildlife trade and in sales of body parts for use in traditional medicine. The song can be used to identify not only which species of gibbon is singing, but also the area from which it comes.
The gibbons' ball-and-socket joints allow them unmatched speed and accuracy when swinging through trees. Nonetheless, their mode of transportation can lead to hazards when a branch breaks or a hand slips, and researchers estimate that the majority of gibbons suffer bone fractures one or more times during their lifetimes.
Read more about this topic: Gibbon
Famous quotes containing the word behavior:
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—Elizabeth Janeway (b. 1913)
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—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)