White Cheeked Gibbon

Facts about White Cheeked Gibbon Apes. White Cheeked Gibbon Apes are black, brown, or grey colored gibbons with white cheeks. The White Cheeked Gibbon Ape are commonly found in the monsoon and tropical evergreen forests of Southern China, Vietnam and Laos. "Scientific name for White Cheeked Gibbon Apes is Nomascus leucogenys.

Physical Make-Up of White Cheeked Gibbon Ape

The White Cheeked Gibbon Apes are smaller apes, with very long legs and arms. They stretch to a height of 47 to 64 cm (18-20 inches) and weigh approximately 7 to 9 kg (15-20 pounds). Unlike other typical gibbons found in the wild, the White Cheeked Gibbon Ape female is a little heavier than the male. The White Cheeked Gibbon Apes color is dimorphic according to age and sex. They are beige in color at infancy. During the first year to year and a half, they have a coat of white and black cheek patches. Upon reaching sexual maturity (5-7years), males maintain their black color and the females go back to being beige again. The White Cheeked Gibbon Ape can be difficult to tell the sex apart without examining closely because strangely both female and male external genitalia are similar.

Basic Diet of White Cheeked Gibbon Ape

The White Cheeked Gibbon Apes mostly eats ripe fruits and a small number of invertebrates. Eating fruits takes up approximately sixty-five percent of the time feeding and the remaining thirty-five percent eating young leaves. Very rarely do the White Cheeked Gibbon Ape visit the ground. As a family unit they eat together in the middle and upper levels canopy.

Natural Life Progression of White Cheeked Gibbon Ape

White Cheeked Gibbon Apes have a 28 days menstrual cycle, and after seven months their period of gestation ends. Their birthing pattern is one offspring between two to three years. After birth, mother White Cheeked Gibbon Apes are seen with their infants tightly clinging across their mother's stomach horizontally. With the newborn in this position, it forces the female to sit in a position of having up their knees. Their position will change as they get older to a more vertical position on the stomach. By the age of two, the White Cheeked Gibbon Ape baby's weaning begins and ends soon after. Then after being taken care of; they will leave their familiar family in pursuit of a new family, as soon as they are fully matured.

Social Structure of White Cheeked Gibbon Ape

The White Cheeked Gibbon Ape are usually sociable, approximately six individuals live together. They practice not to travel far in groups, and it is believed they are territorial. During the night you will find them high in the branches sleeping because of their diurnal nature. The White Cheeked Gibbon Ape often tightly embrace one another while they sleep. In comparison to other gibbons, they too have a mated monogamous structure, having one to four offspring. In terms of maturity, they are considered physically independent by age three; at age six they are mature, and tend to leave the family home two years later. However, they might remain with the family two more years later (10 years).

The White Cheeked Gibbon Ape's family is "governed" by the dominant adult female; this is not typical of other ape species. The White Cheeked Gibbon Ape hierarchy has the adult female on top, then the female offspring, then male offspring, and finally the mature (adult). Grooming is another important means of social activity. Grooming takes place between young and adult, sub adults, and adults. The playful behavior of the infants is a social activity that's common.