Hainan gibbon

How it was counted

The figure is a head count: gibbons are counted animal by animal, across the whole species in the wild. Li and others give 42 with no range, from field data with the Bawangling Branch of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park Administration.

Every wild Hainan gibbon is known and counted animal by animal, so 42 is the whole number, not an estimate.

What moves it

Li and others (Frontiers in Conservation Science) describe a gradual recovery. They name illegal hunting and habitat loss from commercial logging as past pressures, and birds of prey and human disturbance as probable risks to infants (no infant death in the paper is attributed to birds of prey).

• commercial logging (historical). habitat loss from commercial logging Source: Li et al. 2025, Frontiers in Conservation Science (field data with the Bawangling Branch of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park Administration).
• hunting (historical). historical illegal hunting Source: Li et al. 2025, Frontiers in Conservation Science (field data with the Bawangling Branch of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park Administration).
• raptors, a probable risk to infants (none of the four recorded infant deaths is attributed to them). avian raptors Source: Li et al. 2025, Frontiers in Conservation Science (field data with the Bawangling Branch of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park Administration).
• human disturbance, a probable risk to infants. human disturbances Source: Li et al. 2025, Frontiers in Conservation Science (field data with the Bawangling Branch of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park Administration).

Who is helping

Li and others (Frontiers in Conservation Science) credit long-running conservation work on Hainan, including anti-poaching enforcement and habitat restoration, and report new groups forming; the paper names no body behind the work.

The next count

No date is known for the next count as of 12 November 2026: the schedule is irregular (groups monitored continuously; totals appear in papers and park statements).

Sources

• Li et al. 2025, Frontiers in Conservation Science (field data with the Bawangling Branch of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park Administration) Last checked 12 November 2026.

What changed

• 12 November 2026 Added to Live Species, on the wall (1,000 or fewer): 42 (Head count, 2024).

Every change on the site