Critically Endangered
Another in the white theme
There is a Southern White-cheeked Gibbon, and a Northern White-cheeked Gibbon. The females of the species are almost indistinguishable from each other. The males are also very similar, but the white markings on them are a little different. I didn't want to just do the males, even though their colouring is more where the name comes from than the female. I didn't want to do both for each day either. So, I've decided to do the female for this gibbon and the male for the northern one. Interestingly, as babies they are all a soft creamy colour, then they all turn black after weaning. The males stay black, but after a few years the females turn creamy brown again. The biggest threats to them are hunted, mostly for pet trade but also food and traditional medicine. It is illegal to hunt them, but it isn't well enforced except within protected areas. They are monogamous and usually live in small groups of 2 adults and a few young. The juveniles usually leave the family group between the ages of 3 and 6. The males and females are almost the same size, around 12-13 pounds. They can live for about 28 years in the wild. Gibbons have the longest arms of the primates.
I absolutely loved looking these up and seeing the photos of them. So many of the photos showed a male and female together, just looking happy to spend time with each other. They were almost like happily married couples very proud of their newborns, or doting on other children. One photo in particular was the female reclining on her back, nursing a newborn, and the male with his hand resting gently on the infant's back. It seemed like many a picture you would see taken in a hospital after someone gave birth, only with slightly better posing and much less sterile background. I know, I really should stop anthropomorphising animals, but not a surprise here...I don't plan to.
Because it has been rather all encompassing for me, I will be continuing to share fire stuff in my posts until they are gone. By today, he fires had gotten worse very quickly due to extreme winds. There were people already having to evacuate, including a horse rescue I follow. This is the last picture with any blue sky I've had in our town. I sent my mom a list of what they needed to remember in case they had to evacuate, even though they were not even at a level 1 yet.
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