HOOLOCK
GIBBON - ENVIRONMENT
News:
China
event raises concern over India's only ape
What's
in the news?
● The
conservation status of India's only ape was a cause for concern at a global
event on gibbons held a week ago in China.
Hoolock
Gibbon:
● Gibbons,
the smallest and fastest of all apes,
live in tropical and subtropical forests in the southeastern part of Asia.
● The
Hoolock gibbon, unique to India’s northeast, is one of 20 species of gibbons on
Earth.
● It
is the only ape found in India.
Habitat:
● It
is native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India, Myanmar, and Southwest China.
Features:
● It
is categorised into Western Hoolock Gibbon and Eastern Hoolock Gibbon.
● Like
all apes, they are extremely intelligent, with distinct personalities and
strong family bonds.
Western
Hoolock Gibbon:
● It
has a much wider range, as it is found in all the states of the north-east,
restricted between the south of the Brahmaputra river and east of the Dibang
river.
● Outside
India, it is found in eastern Bangladesh and north-west Myanmar.
● It
is listed as Endangered in the IUCN
Red list.
Eastern
Hoolock Gibbon:
● It
inhabits specific pockets of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India, and southern
China and north-east Myanmar.
● It
is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN
Red list.