Hoolock Gibbons | UPSC
HEADLINES:
Hoolock gibbons threatened with extinction in two manipur districts
WHY IN NEWS:
Hot from DownToEarth !
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3: Conservation of Biodiversity : IUCN
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS it is important to understand the distribution , habit , conservation policies , IUCN status and important features of Hoolock gibbons .
For MAINS go through habitat defragmentation and loopholes in conservation policy .
ISSUE:
HOOLOCK GIBBONS
HOOLOCK GIBBONS
FEATURES
- They reach a size of 60 to 90 cm and weigh 6 to 9 kg.
- The sexes are about the same size, but they differ considerably in coloration.
- Males are black-colored with remarkable white brows, while females have a grey-brown fur, which is darker at the chest and neck.
- White rings around their eyes and mouths give their faces a mask-like appearance.
DISTRIBUTION
- In northeast India, the hoolock is found south of Brahmaputra as well on the North Bank areas and east of the Dibang Rivers.
- Like the other gibbons, they are diurnal and arboreal, brachiating through the trees with their long arms.
- They live together in monogamous pairs, which stake out a territory.
- Their calls serve to locate family members and ward off other gibbons from their territory.
- Young hoolocks are born after a seven-month gestation, with milky white or buff-colored hair.
- After eight to 9 years, they are fully mature and their fur reaches its final coloration.
- Their life expectancy in the wild is about 25 years.
HABITAT LOSS
- Without the tree canopies, the gibbons cannot swing from branch to branch and stake out their territories.
- They also cannot adapt to living on the ground and cannot bear the high temperatures brought about by the loss of green cover.
CONSERVATION
- Populations of western hoolock gibbons have declined by almost 90% over the last 30 years
- It is now considered to be one of the most endangered 25 primate species in the world.
- Enhancing protection for the species, the Government of Assam upgraded the status of the Hoollongapar Reserve Forest in the Jorhat District of Assam to a Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in 1997.
- This was the first Protected Area ever named after a primate species.
IUCN
WESTERN HOOLOCK GIBBON
- It is found in all the states of the north-east, restricted between the south of the Brahmaputra river and east of the Dibang river.
SOURCES : IUCN
EASTERN HOOLOCK GIBBON
- It is found in some parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India, and in southern China and north-east Myanmar outside India.
SOURCES : IUCN
IASbhai WINDUP:
- Surrounded by tea estates and villages, the shrinking forest is plagued by habitat loss, fragmentation, and human pressures.
- This is the only sanctuary in India named for a primate and dedicated to the protection of the hoolock gibbon.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB | Current Affairs News Analysis | Prelims & Mains 2020
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