Does anyone know the current status of the gibbon populations in Europe? I can't seem to access the list of EAZA programs right now, but if I remember correctly there are breeding programs for these species: - Lar gibbon - Javan gibbon - Northern and southern white-cheeked gibbons - Yellow-cheeked gibbon - Pileated gibbon - Siamang - Agile gibbon The only gibbon held in Europe that did not have an EEP was Mueller's; I assume that means they are being phased out? With that being said, how well are each of these species doing at the moment? The only one I know much about are Javan gibbons, which are being managed largely at the international level and are presently expanding.
Here Coelacant18, again info from 2008 but not so distant: http://eaza.portal.isis.org/activities/cp/yearbook20072008/26_Gibbon_TAG.pdf There are listed 76 Yellow-checked (Gabriella's gibbons) in 19 European institutions + another 15 individuals participating from Hong Kong and from Pretoria. Again Mueller's gibbon is not mentioned. What is the status of all these gibbon species in the United States? Are these all represented?
@Nikola Chavkosk : Thanks for that link. Interesting to not see lar or agile on there; I don't remember if lar gibbons have an EEP or ESB, but there is definitely an agile gibbon EEP now. All of those species are represented except for southern white-cheeked. Northern white-cheeked gibbons are the only one of those in North America with a formal breeding program; there are about 90 and the population is growing. There are only around 5 agile gibbons, which are a phase-out species here. They are around 15 yellow-cheeked; I believe these are being phased out as well. There are around 15 Javans and 10 pileated, but for both of those species most of them are at the Gibbon Conservation Center in California; only 2 zoos (Fort Wayne and Greensboro) hold Javans and 1 zoo (Gladys Porter) holds pileated.
Last I heard Lar Gibbon had a studbook,which was being run by David Gill as a result those people that know the name will know why this studbook isnt being managed in any way,but the it wasnt even before his problems!As for Agile Gibbon last i heard they were suppose tobe an EAZA phase out species.
In regards to gibbons this is as much as I know: Agile gibbons are indeed due to be phased out, only 7 zoos with them at present. Müller's gibbons are also due to be phased out but further down the line, since their genetics are so screwed up (8 zoos with them, only three of which have pure individuals, these being Lyon, Paignton and Madrid Zoo/Aquarium). As zoogiraffe says, lar gibbons do have a breeding programme but it's being very poorly managed. Southern white-cheeked only present in two zoos (Mulhouse and Vallée des Singes in France) so will also be phased out probably. Other than that, all other species (siamang, northern white-cheeked, Javan or silvery as I prefer to call them, yellow-cheeked or golden-cheeked as I prefer to call them, and pileated) are being bred at varying levels of success.
According to zootierliste the number of institutions in Europe with gibbons are as follows: Siamang = 61 Golden-cheeked = 31 Southern white-cheeked = 2 Northern white-cheeked = 39 Agile = 7 Silvery = 9 (but two of these, Howletts and Port Lympne, have large numbers at each collection so the population is larger than expected Pileated = 17 Müller's = 8 (2 with the abbotti subspecies, 1 with the nominate and the remaining five with hybrids or non-subspecific individuals) Lar = 146 (one collection potentially has the carpenteri subspecies, though unlikely now. All the others, including this one with the potential pure animals, have non-subspecific individuals)
2012 paper that includes EAZA, AZA, and ZAA populations for various gibbon species, along with challenges for captive management: Ex situ gibbon conservation: Status, management and birth sex ratios (PDF Download Available)
