Heard every dawn
Bornean Gibbon
Hylobates funereus
The Northern grey gibbon provides the rainforest soundtrack. This guide explains the dawn duet and where a sighting is a realistic target.
Species profile
The Northern grey gibbon
The Northern grey gibbon is an ape that spends its entire life high in the canopy and moves at blistering speeds. They are obligate canopy dwellers and have no anatomical adaptations for walking on the ground. Instead they rely entirely on arm-swinging to travel.
Because they depend on unbroken canopy, they are highly sensitive to forest fragmentation and require large emergent trees to maintain their home ranges. The original Müller's gibbon, Abbott's grey gibbon and the Bornean white-bearded gibbon live elsewhere on the island south and west of the major rivers.
Canopy walkways and riverboats
The Danum Valley Conservation Area and the Tabin Wildlife Reserve offer some of the best realistic chances for a visual encounter. At Danum Valley, the multi-tiered canopy walkway is your best tool. It puts you 26 metres above the forest floor.
Finding gibbons with guides
Finding a gibbon starts with listening for calls and knowing which trees are fruiting. If you are on the trail by 5:30am, the guide will use directional audio to pinpoint the territory.
Lodges and river safaris
Related
Keep planning
Danum Valley Study Centre
Deep inside the Danum Valley Conservation Area, this working research station offers a stay focused entirely on the 50-kilometre trail network and the rainforest ecology.
Borneo Rainforest Lodge
Situated on the Danum River inside a primary rainforest of a lineage some 130 million years old, this 31-chalet lodge offers high-end comfort and expert wildlife guiding 2.5 hours from Lahad Datu.
Tabin Wildlife Reserve
A 122,500-hectare lowland reserve bordered by oil palm, Tabin is Sabah’s premier destination for night drives. The sharp forest edge concentrates small cats and civets along the boundary roads.
Species profile
Plan your Sabah wildlife trip
Tell the team you want to search for the Northern grey gibbon and they will build your early mornings around the dawn duet.