Gibbons kept as pets or in entertainment are among the most difficult primates to rehabilitate; their specialized social and acoustic needs require specialist sanctuary care.
Gibbons are among the most socially and acoustically complex primates. Animals that have been kept as pets, often in solitary conditions without conspecifics, fail to develop the species-typical behavioral repertoire needed for life in the wild. Sanctuary care that provides appropriate pair bonding, singing opportunities, and complex arboreal environments represents the welfare optimum for un-releasable gibbons.