In the remote forests of northern Vietnam , a teeny , tiny gibbon has been make out . This is no average imitator : it ’s an baby of the world ’s second - rare ape species , the cao vit gibbon .
The newly release footage ( below ) was shoot in November 2024 by researchers at Fauna & Flora who were surveying the population in Cao Bang , a fragmented woods on the mete of northern Vietnam and southeast China .
Their video shows a chemical group of cao vit Edward Gibbon rise and scrounge in a tree , with one carrying a tiny baby clinging to her belly .
“ We were very delirious to espy another infant cao vit gibbon during our veritable patrolling . This was the small infant gibbon I had ever visualize and seeing it remind me of my own children as babies being cared for by my wife , ” Nguyen Duc Tho , Fauna & Flora ’s cao vit gibbon project managing director and part of the gibbon conservation squad , said in astatement .
Thecao vit gibbon(Nomascus nasutus ) , also known as the easterly black crested gibbon , is renowned for its morning whistling song used to defend territory , as well as their prospicient arms that enable them to drop acrobatically from tree to tree .
Just like many gibbon mintage , they exhibit pronounced intimate dimorphism : grownup males have disgraceful fur , while adult female are buffish - yellow . They tend to twosome - up for life and live in very small family groups .
Fauna & Flora have been act to protect the cao vit gibbon for over 20 year . The coinage was take over to be out in 2002 until some of their research worker espy the elusive emulator for the first time in year . However , the turbulent species is n’t out of the woods yet ; their current universe is estimated to be just 74 individual in 11 family groups .
The world ’s rarest archpriest – theHainan gibbon – was once moot to be a race of cao vit gibbon , but they are now deal separate mintage . Found only in the western part of Hainan Island in the South China Sea , its population has dwindled to anestimated35 individuals .
Over a year ago , a population survey by Fauna & Flora revealed that the number of cao vit gibbons was significantly small than antecedently believed . Previous estimates had been balloon due to treble - counting ( an apprehensible fault given the species ’ obtuse habitat and tight - move behaviour ) .
However , this latest observation of a healthy baby is offering a new glimmer of Leslie Townes Hope for the specie ' survival .
“ This is awful and an encouraging preindication of Leslie Townes Hope for the coinage ’ population , which is presently very low , and foreground the vital importance of long - term monitoring and preservation efforts in Cao Bang , ” added Duc Tho .
