Research scientists recently discovered that over two-thirds of the world’s population of the critically-endangered northern white-cheeked crested gibbon are currently living in Vietnam.

Scientists working with Conservation International (CI) used auditory surveying, a technique which uses the species’ loud morning calls for identification, to confirm a population of 455 animals, making it an immediate target for conservation action for the species globally.

According to CI, gibbons are territorial and communicate their boundaries with loud, elaborate and prolonged vocalizations. By recording these songs, data was gathered on the gibbon groups in the surveyed area and used to determine group numbers across the park. This relict population was discovered in remote, dense forest, at high altitudes on the Vietnam-Laos border, where they have been isolated from human populations. This latest discovery gives great hope for the future of this beautiful and unique primate.

“All of the world’s 25 different gibbons are threatened, and none more so than the Indochinese crested gibbons, eight of which, including the northern white-cheeked gibbon, are now on the brink of extinction,” said Dr. Russell A. Mittermeier, Chair of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group and President of Conservation International. ”This is an extraordinarily significant find, and underscores the immense importance of protected areas in providing the last refuges for the region’s decimated wildlife.”