The Last Place on Earth for a Primate on the Brink of Extinction

Photo By: Terry Whittaker / Conservation International

One of the last places on Earth where a critically endangered primate can survive — maybe the last — has been identified in the wilderness of Vietnam, according to Conservation International. The organization calls its census of about 450 animals the largest population known to mankind. The northern white-cheeked crested gibbon is already "functionally extinct" in China, and its numbers are unknown in Laos, the only other country known to harbor the species.

It is one of 25 species of gibbons, all of them endangered.

Species need to do more than survive. They need to survive in great enough numbers that they preserve enough genetic diversity to withstand future threats, whether from climate change, new disease or other emerging problems. For this species of gibbon, the Pu Mat National Park may be the area that provides it space enough to survive. Conservation International worries, however, that recent road-building for patrols along the Laos border could open up the wilderness to logging and poaching.

The white-cheeked gibbons are species worth emulating. They're monogamous and have even been described as "the most romantic primate" because mates sing to one another. (Humans did invent Valentine's Day, though, so we're at least in the running.) They're primarily vegetarian (though they will sneak a baby bird or some eggs when the opportunity arises). And they rarely touch the ground (they live swinging on long fingers from branch to branch in the forest canopy).

Related: 11 of the World's Most Endangered Primates

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