Guwahati: India’s only ape, the Western Hoolock Gibbon, has been named among the World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates for 2025–2027 at the 30th Congress of the International Primatological Society (IPS), held in Antananarivo, Madagascar, from July 20–25.
The announcement came during a special session chaired by world-renowned conservationist Dr. Russell A. Mittermeier, Chair of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group. The IPS Congress brought together 657 delegates from 53 countries, underscoring the urgency of global primate conservation.
Over five days of plenaries, symposia and paper sessions, participants explored the latest advances in primate genomics, habitat restoration and community-based conservation.
India’s Only Ape on the Brink
Of the 26 species of non-human primates found in India, only the hoolock gibbon is an ape. Two subspecies exist — the western hoolock (Hoolock hoolock) and the eastern hoolock (Hoolock leuconedys) — with populations restricted to the seven Northeastern states. Alarmingly, fewer than 10,000 gibbons remain in India, their habitats increasingly under siege.
The Western Hoolock Gibbon is classified as Endangered by the IUCN and, though widely distributed across Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura, its numbers continue to shrink due to rampant deforestation, encroachment, tea plantations, shifting cultivation, hunting, and the illegal wildlife trade. Local extinctions have already been reported in fragmented forest patches.
Six Asian Primates Make the List
Representing India at the Congress, Dr. Dilip Chetry, Senior Primatologist and Director of the Primate Research and Conservation Division at Aaranyak, revealed that six Asian species feature on this year’s endangered list. These include the Banka Slow Loris (Nycticebus bancanus), Sangihe Tarsier (Tarsius sangirensis), Pig-tailed Langur (Simias concolor), Myanmar Snub-nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus strykeri), Tapanuli Orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis), and the Western Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock hoolock).
“The Western Hoolock Gibbon is not just another species — it is India’s only ape, a living symbol of our natural heritage,” Dr. Chetry emphasized, warning that its decline reflects the broader collapse of Northeast India’s fragile ecosystems. The total population of Western Hoolock Gibbon in the world is estimated to be around 25,000.
A Call for ‘Project Gibbon’
Dr. Chetry urged the Government of India to act decisively by formulating a Gibbon Conservation Action Plan for each Northeastern state, eventually leading to a National Action Plan backed by dedicated funds. He called for a flagship initiative — a “Project Gibbon,” modelled on Project Tiger and Project Elephant — to secure the species’ future.
“Without urgent restoration of degraded habitats, creation of ecological corridors, and genuine community involvement, the Western Hoolock Gibbon may vanish within our lifetime,” he warned.
The Road Ahead
Conservationists stress that positioning the Western Hoolock Gibbon as a flagship species could galvanize public and policy support for biodiversity protection in the Northeast, one of the richest yet most threatened ecosystems in India.
As the world marks the plight of its most endangered primates, the fate of India’s only ape now hangs in the balance — a test of whether the nation can rally to save not just a species, but an irreplaceable part of its natural identity.
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