The critically endangered northern White-cheeked Gibbon, and the endangered Siamang, Agile Gibbon, and Lar Gibbon are highly threatened by hunting, often for the pet trade.
Hunters can easily find the Gibbons in dense forests because their morning songs carry for long distances. The loss of even a single adult Gibbon can disrupt the breeding potential of an entire social unit, sometimes for years. If left unchecked, hunting pressure could render local populations extinct.
The ongoing loss of habitat now limits the range of these species. Key Gibbon strongholds include: the mountainous rainforest of Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in southwest Sumatra, Indonesia, one of the largest protected areas with large populations of Agile Gibbons and Siamang; the rugged primary rainforest of Endau-Rompin National Park in Malaysia, which holds the southernmost population of Lar Gibbons; and the mountainous terrain of Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area in northern Lao PDR, home to one of the largest known populations of northern White-cheeked Gibbons.