GIBBONS 



17 



selves from one bough to another, far more easily and rapidly 

 than they can travel along the ground. But one group of the 

 tribe is distinguished above all the rest by the marvellous activity 

 of its members, 

 which has won for 

 them the title of 

 the "acrobats of the 

 monkey race ". 



These are the 

 Gibbons, the last of 

 the family of man- 

 like apes, without 

 tails, which are 

 principally found 

 on the mainland 

 of India, chiefly in 

 the Malay Penin- 

 sula, in Sumatra, 

 Borneo, and some 

 of the neighbour- 

 ing islands. They 

 seem generally to 

 live in small com- 

 panies of from fifty 

 to one hundred 

 individuals; but 

 very little is known 

 about their habits 

 when in a state of 



freedom, for they are so cautious and wary that it is almost 

 impossible for an observer to approach them. 



When a gibbon is alarmed, it runs up to one of the topmost 

 branches of a lofty tree, swings for a moment or two to gain an 

 impetus, and then launches itself into the air towards a distant 

 branch. Just touching this, it passes on to another, and from 

 that to a third ; and so on until, in a very few moments, it is out 



of sight. 



(Msas) G 



The Hoolock, one of the Gibbons 



