Rare yellow-cheeked gibbon found in Da Nang

The Da Nang Forest Protection Department said on Thursday that it had received a yellow-cheeked gibbon from the Hoa Vang Forest Protection Department. This species is not native to Da Nang, so the rangers are planning to release it back into the wild.

Earlier on February 4, people informed the Hoa Vang Forest Protection Department that a wild yellow-cheeked gibbon appeared in a residential area in Nam Yen Village, Hoa Bac Commune. The male adult gibbon with normal health and weighing three kilograms was later captured by the authorities.

The yellow-cheeked gibbon is a forest animal on the list of endangered species. This is the first time this species has been discovered in Da Nang and its origin is unknown.

The yellow-cheeked gibbon belongs to the primate family. This is a species of gibbon native to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Adult males have black body hair with yellow cheeks, and females and juveniles are born blonde but later turn black.

According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, there are about 2,500 yellow-cheeked gibbons in Cambodia's Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, which is estimated to have the largest population of this rare animal in the world. In Vietnam, they are distributed from the Ba River to the Ong Mountain Nature Reserve in the south central coast.