The Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is described as “The world’s most critically endangered primate.” In fact, its numbers are said to be much lower than any other primate on Earth. It’s found in just a single block of forest on Hainan Island, China, and nowhere else. Like so many similar creatures, it travels through the […]
Tag: gibbon
POLL: Should the wildlife trade on Facebook be stopped?
From the Malayan sun bear to a blood python, Malaysians seem to have found a booming marketplace for wild animals on Facebook. Much of this online trade is carried out in closed Facebook groups, and involves live, high-profile and threatened species for which trade is strictly prohibited in Peninsular Malaysia, a five-month investigation by wildlife […]
Hainan gibbon decline charted in Chinese records
Historical Chinese documents have helped scientists to track the decline of the world’s rarest primates. Today, China has between 26 and 28 Hainan gibbons left, but government records that date back to the 17th Century show that gibbons were once widespread across half of the country. The apes began to disappear from the documents about […]