- In recent months, seizure incidents of gibbons trafficked from Southeast Asia into India have increased.
- The growing demand for gibbons as pets is behind the increased trafficking, fueled by social media and aided by porous borders and weak enforcement of wildlife laws.
- Since the trafficked gibbons are caught from the wild, the process of capture causes deaths, disturbs gibbon social structures, and causes life-long trauma for those captured alive.
- In light of increased trafficking incidents, conservationists call for stricter law enforcement, improved training to detect wildlife crimes, increased awareness, and repatriation of seized gibbons to their countries of origin.
With oversized and inquisitive eyes, an infant-like expressive face, and a palette of thick, furry coats ranging from beige to black, gibbons tick all the right boxes to be called “cute” and “cuddly.” But their endearing appearance is now costing these native Asian apes their lives and a future in the wild, thanks to people wanting them as pets.
This surging demand in the exotic pet trade, especially from countries where gibbons aren’t native, is thrusting them into the illegal wildlife trade. A particularly worrying trend is playing out in India, say conservationists, pointing to recent seizures of gibbons at Indian airports and border states.
“Over the last two years, there have been a substantial number of confiscations taking place,” says Susan Cheyne, vice chair of the primate specialist group section on small apes at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, referring to the increase in seizures in India. “It’s really quite depressing.”
There are 20 species of gibbons, tree-dwelling lesser apes, spread across 11 countries in Asia. The IUCN classifies five gibbon species as critically endangered and 14 as endangered, making them one of the most threatened primate groups. All gibbon species are listed under Appendix I of the CITES, the global wildlife trade convention, meaning their commercial trade is prohibited internationally. However, legal loopholes and weak enforcement mean the trade manages to thrive.
In 2024 alone, Indian media reported two seizure incidents of endangered siamang gibbons (Symphalangus syndactylus) from Thailand and Malaysia, and one seizure incident of agile gibbons (Hylobates agilis) from Malaysia. They were seized along with other widely trafficked species, such as turtles, pythons and iguanas, that came from Southeast Asia and beyond.
India’s surging demand for exotic animals
Gibbons are a recent addition to the booming exotic pet trade in India. A 2023 report by WWF and TRAFFIC, an international NGO that monitors the wildlife trade, reported 56 seizure incidents of exotic wildlife in the country in 2022. These involved nearly 4,000 animals, including more than 100 primates. However, no gibbons were seized that year, according to the report.
Primatologist Dilip Chetry, who has worked with conservation NGO Aaranyak in the state of Assam for more than three decades, says it’s only in the last three to four years that he’s seen many primate species arriving in the country from Indonesia, Malaysia, Latin America and Africa.
As one of the first people to be called by officials whenever there’s a primate seizure to identify the species, Chetry has firsthand knowledge of the animals seized in northeastern India. He says primates, including gibbons, make up most of the seizures he knows of in the region in the last three to four years, followed by reptiles. Among gibbons, agile gibbons, siamangs, lar gibbons (Hylobates lar) and hoolock gibbons (genus Hoolock) top the list.
Northeastern India is emerging as a hotspot for illegal wildlife trafficking because some of its states share a land border with Bangladesh, noted by conservationists as a source for gibbons being trafficked into India and Myanmar, and a hub for regional wildlife trafficking. Chetry says the region’s thick jungles and tough terrain make it easy for traffickers to bring animals across international borders without getting caught. Once the animals enter the country, they’re transported to other parts of India, where they end up as pets or in private zoos, he says.
Social media, affordability driving gibbon trafficking
As social media use penetrates people’s daily lives, it has also fueled the demand for exotic animals. Posts by celebrities posing with such animals set trends that are aped by followers. “Nowadays, it is becoming worse because of TikTok … the advertisement is becoming more appealing to people,” says Mariani “Bam” Ramli, founder and president of the Gibbon Conservation Society in Malaysia.
These platforms also serve as a marketplace for trafficked animals. While online sales of gibbons have been illegal in Malaysia since the amended Wildlife Conservation Act of 2020 came into effect in 2022, Ramli says the trade continues as the law isn’t enforced.
“Gibbons are not popular target for conservation measures,” she says, adding that most of Malaysia’s conservation policies are currently focused on the country’s big five: Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus), Malayan gaur (Bos gaurus) and Malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus).
In India, the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 likewise prohibits the commercial trade of native wild animals, such as hoolock gibbons. In 2022, the act was amended to include CITES-listed species, making the commercial trade of Appendix I species, like nonnative gibbons, illegal. But its enforcement remains a concern, Chetry says, which results in the demand for exotic pets.
Kanitha Krishnasamy, Southeast Asia regional director at TRAFFIC, says growing wealth across Asia, including India, is also a driver. “When wealth increases, it correlates with a high number of trafficking, as people want to own pets that are considered rare or unique or beautiful, and they hold a certain level of appeal.”
But that desire for an exotic pet, such as a gibbon, comes at a heavy cost for the already threatened apes.