A gibbon is a small, acrobatic ape that swings through the rainforest trees of Southeast Asia with amazing speed and grace. Gibbons have extremely long arms (sometimes longer than their bodies) that let them swing from branch to branch in a movement called brachiation, traveling quickly through the canopy. Watching a gibbon move through the trees is like watching an Olympic gymnast on the high bar, except the gibbon almost never falls and never seems to get tired.

Unlike gorillas or chimpanzees, gibbons are relatively small, usually weighing between 10 and 25 pounds. They live in family groups and are known for their loud, musical calls that echo through the forest each morning, helping them mark their territory and communicate with their families. These songs can be heard up to two miles away.

Gibbons eat mainly fruit, leaves, and insects. They spend almost their entire lives high in the trees, rarely coming down to the ground. Scientists consider gibbons “lesser apes” because they're smaller than great apes like gorillas and orangutans, but there's nothing lesser about their incredible athleticism.