Gibbons are the only apes that brachiate as their primary locomotion. Their welfare in captivity depends critically on three-dimensional arboreal space.
Gibbons have highly specialised locomotor and social requirements that make adequate captive housing genuinely challenging. The arboreal, brachiating lifestyle of wild gibbons requires tall, complex three-dimensional structures that most conventional zoo enclosures fail to provide. Gibbons forced to locomote terrestrially show abnormal movement patterns and reduced activity. The monogamous social structure means single animals or poorly matched pairs experience profound social deprivation. The vocal sophistication of gibbons — which produce some of the most complex vocalisations of any primate — may indicate emotional and cognitive complexity that makes welfare compromise particularly significant. Zoos with accredited gibbon programs that provide appropriate housing make a genuine conservation contribution, particularly given rampant wild habitat loss.