Rainforest Apes - Chimps, Gibbons and Siamangs

A stop on Oakland Zoo: Savanna to California Trail, a free self-guided tour.

Listen first. Around this part of the Tropical Rainforest, you may hear the whooping songs of gibbons and siamangs, small apes that swing hand over hand through the trees. Siamangs have a throat sac that inflates like a balloon and makes their calls carry for long distances through the forest.

You may also see the zoo's chimpanzee troop. Chimps are our closest living relatives and share most of our DNA. They use tools in the wild, fishing termites out of mounds with twigs and cracking nuts with stones, and each troop has its own traditions.

Nearby, squirrel monkeys and cotton-top tamarins scamper through their habitats. The zoo supports field projects for wild primates, and its Beads for Chimps sales send money to communities that live near chimpanzees in Africa.

Getting here: Continue west past the gibbon island to the chimpanzee viewing area.

Did you know?: Gibbons can swing through the trees at up to about 35 miles per hour, covering several meters in a single swing.

Photo op: Watch a gibbon mid-swing on its island and use burst mode to catch it in the air.

For kids: Siamangs sing duets. Try a call-and-answer song with someone in your group.

Nearby: Restrooms are by the Rainforest Aviary, just west on the path toward the Children's Zoo.

More on Wikipedia: Chimpanzee · Siamang · Gibbon

Rainforest Apes - Chimps, Gibbons and Siamangs

Stops on this tour