Hylobates spp. (Gibbons) 
Utilization 
The white-handed gibbon has been identified as a model for study of 
certain cancer viruses. Recent work suggests that gibbons may be of 
value for hepatitis B research; they are also used for behavioral studies. 
Foreign Sources 
The gibbon is found throughout most of southeastern Asia, including 
nearby islands of Indonesia. Since this animal is confined to areas of 
primary forest, clear-cutting lumbering practices and general deforestation 
have caused gibbon population reductions in some localities. In recogniton 
of this situation, this animal has been identified as endangered, and 
steps have been taken to control its international trade. 
Production in United States 
The limited breeding of gibbons has been designed to fulfill specific 
research needs within a few institutions. No known production exists 
from which this animal is made available to the general biomedical 
community. Captive breeding of this animal is expected to be extremely 
costly, approaching that of the chimpanzee, at $5,000 per yearling 
animal. This, combined with the difficulty in obtaining gibbons, may 
contribute to the lack of additional interest in domestic production. 
Recommendations 
The demand for the gibbon as a model for certain cancer-virus research 
has increased as has cancer research in general. The estimated require¬ 
ment of 100 animals in 1977, a rather small numerical requirement, 
reflects the difficulty of obtaining the gibbon rather than the full 
extent of the need. It is, therefore, recommended that the IPSC inves¬ 
tigate the possibility of establishing cooperative breeding/conservation 
programs within interested source countries in order to ensure additional 
supplies of this animal. Since available breeding stock is limited at 
this time, they should be reserved for the special breeding programs for 
cancer research. If breeding animals become available, consideration 
should be given to the establishment of a general-purpose production 
colony. 
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