Siamang Gibbon

The Siamang gibbons are rare, small, slender, long-armed, tree-dwelling apes. Siamangs live in the upper canopy of tropical rainforests in Malaysia and Sumatra (in southeast Asia). They have long, dense, shaggy, black hair on most of their body. Like all apes, they have no tail. Siamangs can also leap acrobatically from tree branch to tree branch across large gaps in the tree canopy. They have been known to leap over 30 feet in a single jump! Siamang gibbons sleep sitting upright in the fork of a tree, usually alone but sometimes huddled together. They are monogamous and have an enlarged throat sac to amplify their sound.

That throat sac can inflate to the size of a grapefruit, letting siamangs produce loud whooping calls that carry for over two miles through dense rainforest — used both to mark territory and to strengthen the bond between mated pairs, who often “sing” together each morning. Siamangs are the largest of the gibbon species, and their arms are longer relative to their body than any other primate’s. Come see our siamang gibbons at Plumpton Park Zoo — plan your visit.