The Distribution and Abundance of Hoolock Gibbons in India

Abstract

A clear understanding of the distribution of organisms in time and space is central to the evaluation of the conservation status of threatened species and critical for the formulation of appropriate conservation strategies. The hoolock gibbon has a broad geographic distribution across tropical and subtropical regions of Bangladesh, China, India, and Myanmar. Groves (1967) distinguished two subspecies of hoolocks based on the variation in pelage coloration on opposite banks of the river Chindwin in Myanmar: Hoolock hoolock hoolock (the western hoolock gibbon) and Hoolock hoolock leuconedys (the eastern hoolock gibbon). Subsequently, Mootnick and Groves (2005) described these taxa as distinct species.