Pileated Gibbon

The pileated gibbon, scientifically Hylobates pileatus and first described by J. E. Gray in 1861, is found across eastern Thailand, western Cambodia and southwest Laos, with population estimates of about 35,000 individuals in Cambodia and 30,000 in Thailand. Males have purely black fur, while females have buff-coloured or white-grey fur with a black belly and head, and both sexes share a white, often shaggy ring of hair around the head. The species is diurnal and arboreal, living in monogamous pairs and moving by brachiation with its long arms, and it feeds predominantly on fruit, leaves and small animals. It is classified as Endangered under IUCN criteria and listed on CITES Appendix I, threatened by conversion of its natural forest to farmland, hunting, and wildlife smuggling.