Acrobatic Primates Edge Closer to Extinction

A group of acrobatic primates living, and swinging from tree branches, in Vietnam are not faring so well, with three of the six species inching closer to extinction, finds a new report, released today (May 21), on these primates called crested gibbons.

Gibbons are relatively small, slender primates that are exceptionally agile, using their extra-long arms for a spectacular arm-swinging locomotion called brachiation in which they move through the tress with a hand-over-hand technique. Currently, seven species of crested gibbons in the genus Nomascus are recognized taxonomically. Six of these live in Vietnam.

Gibbon numbers
In the new study, which is an update of a similar survey carried out in 2000, the researchers collected data from all sites in Vietnam where gibbons are known to live, counting them and evaluating the effectiveness of conservation efforts there.


Continued: http://www.livescience.com/20459-endangered-gibbons-primate-extinction.html