Siamang

Species: Siamang
Habitat: Rain forests
Status: Endangered
DAK Locale: Asia

The Siamang is the largest of all gibbons. Like all gibbons, the siamang is a lesser ape. Standing at the exhibit, located between Expedition Everest and Kali River Rapids, you will often overhear people calling the siamangs "monkeys." They are wrong, and there is one sure fire way to tell. Apes do not have tails.

Unlike the great apes, siamangs do not build nests. They sleep upright in the trees. In fact, the animals spend almost all of their life in the trees. And like all gibbons, siamangs are experts at brachiation. They swing through the trees at amazing speeds and few animals can match their agility in moving through the dense jungle vegetation. Their very long arms allow them to swing up to 10 feet at a time. All gibbons also have an opposable big toe which helps in brachiation, as well.

A siamang is also well known for noise. The calls can heard in the jungle for up to 2 miles, which is quite a bit in a dense forest. They can sometimes be heard on the other side of the Animal Kingdom. If at the exhibit when the calls happen, you will see a large throat sac, helping the siamang be the loudest of all gibbons. The calls are used mostly to establish territory in a forest where often rival groups cannot be seen. Interestingly, mated pairs create their own unique songs.

Mated pairs often stay together for life. The family consists of the pair and two or three offspring who are born several years apart. The father essentially takes over the care of the offspring after a year which is very unusual for primates. The children often leave the family group between ages 5 and 7.  They live up to 40 years of age.

The siamang is found in the jungles of Malaysia and Indonesia. They are endangered. Although poaching can be a problem, this biggest issue is deforestation from logging and expansion of farmland, especially for palm oil and coffee.