Gibbon Conservation in the Anthropocene

Susan M. Cheyne · Carolyn Thompson · Peng-Fei Fan · Helen J. Chatterjee

Apr 2023 · Cambridge University Press

About this ebook

Hylobatids (gibbons and siamangs) are the smallest of the apes distinguished by their coordinated duets, territorial songs, arm-swinging locomotion, and small family group sizes. Although they are the most speciose of the apes boasting twenty species living in eleven countries, ninety-five percent are critically endangered or endangered according to the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species. Despite this, gibbons are often referred to as being 'forgotten' in the shadow of their great ape cousins because comparably they receive less research, funding and conservation attention. This is only the third book since the 1980s devoted to gibbons, and presents cutting-edge research covering a wide variety of topics including hylobatid ecology, conservation, phylogenetics and taxonomy. Written by gibbon researchers and practitioners from across the world, the book discusses conservation challenges in the Anthropocene and presents practice-based approaches and strategies to save these singing, swinging apes from extinction.

About the author

Susan M. Cheyne is the co-director of Borneo Nature Foundation International and Vice-Chair for IUCN Primate Specialist Group Section on Small Apes. She received the 2017 Marsh Award for Conservation Biology in partnership with the Zoological Society of London. She is also a Royal Geographical Society Fellow and an IUCN Cat Specialist Group member.

Carolyn Thompson is an early career interdisciplinary researcher with University College London and the Zoological Society of London's Institute of Zoology. She has more than fifteen years' experience working in the field of primatology. The majority of her research has focused on Asian primates, with the exception of lemurs in Madagascar. Her research interests include human-primate interactions, ethnoprimatological methods, conservation education, and primate conservation. Carolyn is the Student Representative for the IUCN Section on Small Apes.

Peng-Fei Fan is a Professor in the School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China. He has been studying behaviour, ecology, and conservation of primates, mostly gibbons, in China since 2002. Along with his colleagues, he discovered the white-cheeked macaque (Macaca leucogenys) and skywalker hoolock gibbon (Hoolock tianxing). He has published more than 80 peer-reviewed papers and currently serves as Associate Editor or Editorial Board Member for five scientific journals.

Helen J. Chatterjee is a Professor of Biology at University College London, UK. Her research includes biodiversity conservation and evidencing the impact of natural and cultural participation on health. Helen serves on the Executive Committee for the IUCN Section on Small Apes. In 2015 she received an MBE for Services to Higher Education and Culture.