Standing up for the gibbons

[Guest guest]

Slate magazine recently published an article

drawing attention to the low status of gibbons

among the apes. Yet they include the rarest apes

in the world: the Cao Vit and Hainan gibbons, The

result is that for every dollar donated to gibbon

projects, hundreds go to the larger apes. For

every TV program on apes, you'll see one gibbon

story for every one about large apes.

Take a look at the story at

http://www.slate.com/id/2196275/pagenum/all/#page_start

Extract,

 

" There are are five types of ape. Four are

considered " great. " The fifth is the

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbon>gibbon.

Greatness in apes is largely a matter of size,

and the gibbon, maxing out at 30 pounds, doesn't

make the cut. To primatologists, it is known

instead as the " lesser ape " ­or, as its partisans

prefer, the " small ape. " As a result, it's

overlooked in everything from environmental

protections to fantasies of simian domination.

(There are no slave-driving gibbons in Planet of

the Apes. Humans have resolved to protect our

evolutionary family, yet we continue to ignore one of our closest cousins.

Gibbons may be small, but they bear all

the requisites of apehood: large brains, no tail,

and rotary shoulder blades. Like orangutans, they

populate Southeast Asia. They're typically black

with white markings around their faces, as if

dressed in furry habits. Swinging through the

treetops at speeds up to 35 miles per hour, they look a bit like flying nuns. "

 

Lots of great comments, you can add your

own thoughts. Help put gibbons on the map!

 

 

 

Dr. Shirley McGreal, OBE, Founder

International Primate Protection League

PO Box 766

Summerville, SC 29484, USA

Phone - 843-871-2280, Fax- 843-871-7988

 

E-mail - smcgreal, Web: www.ippl.org

Working to Protect All Primates Since 1973

 

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that

one is constantly making exciting discoveries. ~ AA Milne