October 24 marks International Gibbon Day, a day devoted to the celebration of the acrobatic, long-armed primates native to the dwindling rainforests of Southern Asia and to raise awareness for the amazing apes both in the wild and in managed care.

RWPZoo is home to a pair of Northern White-Cheeked Gibbons (Hylobates leucogenys), Ari, a 12-year-old female, and Quon, a 13-year-old male. Visitors can often see these acrobatic ape companions leaping and swinging their way around their home at the Zoo’s World of Adaptations.

According to Zookeeper Kelly Froio, Ari and Qwon make a perfect pair.

“Ari is the dominant one,” she said, noting that in the wild, female gibbons are naturally more dominant, “but she is especially assertive… Qwon is a good fit for her because he’s very laid back, but can stand up for himself when he needs to.” When she’s not bossing around her more laid-back companion, Ari can often be found exploring her environment, wrapping herself in sheets and blankets or playing with the wide variety of toys (her current favorite is a pink stuffed frog) provided by the keeper staff.

As with all manner of animals at the Zoo, keepers provide Ari and Quon with enrichment activities to keep them healthy and active. A unique part of each species’ veterinary care, enrichment is a way to allow animals to perform natural behaviors, exhibit some sort of control over their environment, and stimulate their mind and body.

“We tend to focus on food-related enrichment for our gibbons because that’s what they respond most to,” said Froio. “We place some of their diet in food puzzles to give them an extra level of engagement, like the foraging they would have to do in their natural habitat.”

The Zoo is a member of the Gibbon Species Survival Plan (SSP), working alongside other member organizations to develop progressive husbandry, welfare, and management

strategies, identify breeding recommendations to manage a genetically diverse population, and support gibbon conservation in the wild.

Of the 18 species of gibbons in the wild, 17 of them, including the Northern White-Cheeked gibbons like Ari and Quon, are listed as either endangered or critically endangered. One of the chief causes of concern for gibbon populations is the loss of their Asian rainforest habitats.

The reason behind much of the deforestation? Human agriculture – specifically the cultivation and harvesting of palm oil. The oil, derived from the fruits of palm trees, has a wide variety of uses and applications, including food manufacturing, personal care and beauty products, cleaning products and biofuel. Consequently, the rainforests that gibbons, among many other species of flora and fauna, call home are shrinking at an alarming rate due to palm oil cultivation.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) said in a statement that the organization “recognizes that unsustainable palm oil production results in massive deforestation, rapid biodiversity loss in tropical ecosystems, and significant greenhouse gas emissions. Global consumption of palm oil and its derivatives is increasing, requiring strong conservation action to save species.”

If you want to do your part in help gibbon conservation worldwide, consider shopping smart when purchasing products containing palm oil. Apps like Sustainable Palm Oil Shopping (produced by Cheyenne Mountain Zoo) and Palm Smart can be great resources, giving consumers insight into where their products come from.

International Gibbon Day is all about raising public awareness for these lovable treetop dwellers, bringing animal lovers everywhere together to save them from extinction.