Silvery Gibbon

Common name of a critically endangered species of gibbon, with the scientific designation Hylobates moloch, and also commonly known as the Javan Gibbon. In the wild, the Silvery Gibbon lives exclusively on the Indonesian island of Java, where it dwells deep in the rain forests. This primate is diurnal and arboreal, descending only rarely to the forest floor, and feeds on fruits, leaves, and flowers. There is no apparent sexual dimorphism and adults have a silvery greyish to blackish fur, with darker markings on the chest and cap and with lighter grey to white fur on the hands, around the face, and around the crown. Sexes can de distinguished by their call, which is more variable in females. There are less than 2,000 Silvery Gibbons in the wild and the species is in serious danger of becoming extinct, due to deforestation and thus habitat loss, but in part also due to illegal pet trade, which leads to the killing of breeding females in order to easily capture their babies, thus reducing the potential future reproductive rate for the species. In order to help the future survival of this species, several zoos worldwide operate Silvery Gibbon breeding programs. In Thai, the Silvery Gibbon is known as chanih sih ngun (ชะนีสีเงิน). 回