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Lar Gibbon

Hylobates lar

Photo by SeanWeekly
Published on Project Noah
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Field Notes

Description:

Saw this cute Gibbon in the Phi Phi Islands, Thailand. His name was Peter and a local man owned him as a pet (illegally I assume) none the less this lovely guy was well looked after and it was amazing to hold and play with such an amazing creature free of charge!

Habitat:

Lar gibbons are threatened in various ways: they are sometimes hunted for their meat, sometimes a parent is killed in order to capture young animals for pets and the largest danger is the loss of habitat.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (15)
SeanWeekly
I did not say it was right what that are they doing! I posted this picture as a spotting, it was an animal that I havent seen before. Plus this site is about sharing wildlife. Everyone on project noah is against animal cruelty I am sure. So I dont think anyone on here will be rushing to Thailand anytime soon to PAY some money to see the Gibbon. This is why we post pictures to educate everyone on here what happens/ is happening around the world to endangered animals. They now have a picture to look at on here if they wish to see one.
Muckpuk
What worries me is what happens to the gibbon when he is not surrounded by tourists, or when its singing at 5.00 in the morning, or when he/she becomes mature and more agressive. I understand the attraction to interact with such a lovely creature but what if people who see your picture also go to PhiPhi and DO pay the man? Lets keep reminding ourselves that the reason one can hold it was because someone captured it ( probably by shooting mum out of the tree ) Just saying!
SeanWeekly
Of course it saddened me to see these beautiful animal just on the street as a pet being used to make money. Not justifying the owner at all for owning him, but he looked well treated. I posted this picture as it was an amazing experience to be able to interact and hold such a beautiful animal that you would not normally be able to go near. I completely agree that these guys should be left in the wild with there own species.
Ava T-B
Muckpuk, Sean has good notes attached to this spotting. This isn't how we want to see the natural world, but sometimes information on the interaction of humans and animals is worthwhile.
Maria dB
I agree with Muckpuck and it is sad that this animal was kept as a pet. I'm glad you included information on the threats they face and what happens for the pet trade. Primates live in groups and need to be with others of their species.
Muckpuk
As someone who has worked at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Centre in Phuket, I find it upsetting seeing Gibbons in clothes.
DanielePralong
Sometimes animals will be known locally by names that have little to do with their real ID ;-) You can read about efforts to rehabilitate them to the wild here: http://www.gibbonproject.org/
SeanWeekly
Ha ha the guy told me he was a spider monkey, I was wondering why it was so difficult to identify which species he was. Thanks for the ID Carolina. :)
DanielePralong
I'd agree with Carolina. Spider monkeys are New World monkeys.
Carolina
I don't think he is a spider monkey, he looks more like a gibbon - maybe a Lar gibbon, what do you think?

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2011 Best Wildlife Photo
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PublishedSeptember 13, 2011

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