Nutrient Composition of the Diets of Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch)

Abstract

Javan gibbons consume different foods to fulfil their nutrient requirement. We analyzed foods eaten by Javan gibbons for their nutrient content in Citalahab area, Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park (GHSNP), Indonesia. The goal was to assess amounts of water content, ash, crude fats, crude protein, crude fibers, carbohydrate and gross energy to determine whether there was nutritional variation between foods eaten by females and males. A total 43 food plant parts representing 33 plant species were collected, processed and analyzed. Females and males in Javan gibbons have similar diets with regard to overall composition. Nutrient analyses revealed high water content, ash and crude protein in young leaves; flowers and ripe fruits contained the most carbohydrate; crude fats content was highest in unripe fruits; ripe fruits were rich in crude fibers and gross energy content was high in all the main plant foods. Individual exhibit higher intake of certain nutrients by increasing feeding intake rate seems to be the key to greater nutrient intake in individual. This data adds our knowledge about nutritional composition of foods eaten by Javan gibbons and provides valuable comparative data for optimizing the diets of Javan gibbons ex situ.