Publications

Gibbon Conservation Center
A nonprofit center for the study, preservation, and propagation of highly endangered species

Publications

A Captive Management Note for the Pileated Gibbon
by Alan R. Mootnick

photo by A. Mootnick

Hylobates pileatus

Currently there are only 17 pileated gibbons (Hylobates pileatus) housed at five institutions in North America. Unfortunately, there are only two breeding pairs and no other females who are capable of forming future pairs. Due to the low numbers of this endangered species, it is very important to understand why they may not take proper care of their offspring in captivity. Five pileated gibbons are housed at the International Center for Gibbon Studies (ICGS).

It has been observed that male gibbons are sometimes aggressive toward their newly born infants. An incident occurred at ICGS involving a male who was born at the Phoenix Zoo, which may shed some light on this behavior. While at the Phoenix Zoo, this male pileated gibbon became dominant over his 27 year old father and was observed copulating with his mother; during that time, he was not exposed to siblings. We received this male when he was seven years old. Due to the rarity of this species, there were only three reproductively viable female pileated gibbons in North America, one of which was housed at our center. She was a 23 year old female who had partially crippled hands and feet, was arthritic, and turned out to be subordinate to the newly introduced male. Within a year of their introduction, this female gave birth. Shortly thereafter, the male frequently tried removing the male infant from her. When the infant was eight days old, the male was observed holding the infant and biting his scalp; then he dropped the infant from a height of 3 meters. The male was removed for 24 months, and was then reintroduced to the mother and their juvenile offspring. During the first 2 days after his reintroduction, the juvenile male spent the majority of the time in the adjoining enclosure, and we allowed him to spend only 5 minutes each day in the primary enclosure with his parents. The juvenile was removed after the second day since his father was more interested in chasing him than in copulating with his former mate. After the eleventh day, the breeding male was removed and the juvenile male was housed back with his mother.

photo by A. Mootnick

Hylobates pileatus

photo by A. Mootnick

H. pileatus

Several years later, when the breeding male was 12 years old, we paired him with a 4.5 year old mother-reared female. At that time, the female repeatedly solicited to the male, but he did not respond until she was sexually mature. Eventually the pair became more interested in aggressive displays towards other gibbons housed at ICGS, and copulation ceased. To prevent visual access between this pair of pileated gibbons and the agile gibbons with whom they were preoccupied, trees were left untrimmed and tarps were erected between the enclosures. On September 1, 1995, when the breeding male was 15 years of age, this pair of pileated gibbons produced an offspring.

In the current pair, the female is dominant and rebuffs the male's attempts to touch the infant. The male shows some interest toward his male infant but is not as aggressive as in the past. Perhaps his prior behavior toward his infant was due to the lack of interaction with a sibling during his youth. I believe that the decrease in his aggressiveness is a result of either his being older, or the fact that the female is more protective and is dominant over the breeding male. It appears that his first female mate was too old and handicapped to dominate him.

photo by A. Mootnick

H. pileatus female and infant

Listed below are papers that Alan Mootnick authored or co-authored. The first section is our newsletter, the Gibbon's Voice, then Peer Reviewed Journal Publications, Editor Reviewed Book Publications, Proceedings, Popular Articles, Abstracts, In Press and Reviewed Articles. We are working on getting the entire text of each publication reproduced on this web site. At this time, we are sorry to be unable to provide reprints of articles. Your public or university library should have them or be able to order them.

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the Gibbon's Voice, the newsletter of the Gibbon Conservation Center:

Sep. 2007 (Vol. 9) Sep. 2006 (Vol. 8) Sep. 2005 (Vol. 7) Oct. 2003 (Vol. 6) Dec. 2001 (Vol. 5) Dec. 2000 (Vol. 4) Dec. 1999 (Vol. 3) Dec. 1997 (Vol. 2) Nov. 1996 (Vol. 1)

Peer Reviewed Journal Publications:

Baena, A; Mootnick, AR; Falvo, JV; Tsytskova, AV; Ligeiro, F; Diop, OM; Gagneux, P; Brieva, C; O'Brien, SJ; Ryder, OA; Goldfeld, AE; 2007 Primate TNF promoters reveal markers of phylogeny and evolution of innate immunity. PLoS One 2(7)

Roberto, R; Capozzi, O; Wilson, RK; Mardis, ER; Lomiento, M; Tuzun, E; Cheng, Z; Mootnick, AR; Archidiacono, N; Rocchi, M; Eichler, EE. 2007. Molecular refinement of gibbon genome rearrangements. Genome Research. 17(2) 249-257.

Carbone, L; Vessere, GM; ten Hallers, BFH; Zhu, BL; Osoegawa, K; Mootnick, A; Kofler, A; Wienberg, J; Rogers, J; Humphray, S; Harris, RA; Milosavljevic, A; de Jong, PJ. 2006. A High-Resolution Map of Synteny Disruptions in Gibbon and Human Genomes. PLoS Genetics. 2(12) 2162-2175.

Cunningham, CL; Anderson, JR; Mootnick, AR. 2006. Object manipulation to obtain a food reward in hoolock gibbons (Hoolock hoolock). Animal Behavior. 71(3) 621-629.

Mootnick, AR. 2006. Gibbon (Hylobatidae) Species Identification Recommended for Rescue or Breeding Centers. Primate Conservation. 21:103-138. Since this a large file, you may wish to view it in 3 parts: text only, figures 1, figures 2. This manuscript is also available for downloading at http://www.primate-sg.org/PC21.htm. (The entire issue of Primate Conservation (21) is posted on http://www.primate-sg.org/pc.htm.)

Hirai, H; Wijayanto, H; Tanaka, H; Mootnick, AR; Hayano, A; Perwitasari-Farajallah, D; Iskandriati, D; Sajuthi, D. 2005. A remarkable chromosome marker separating Sumatran and Bornean agile gibbons, and its peculiar chromosomal incompatibility. Chromosome Research. 13(2) 123-133.

Mootnick, AR; Baker, E; Nadler, RD; Merker, B. 2006. Hostile presenting in captive gibbons. International Journal of Primatology. 27(3) 809-825.

Mootnick, AR; Groves, C. 2005. A new generic name for the hoolock gibbon (Hylobatidae). International Journal of Primatology. 26(4): 971-976.

Hirai, H; Wijayanto, H; Tanaka, H; Mootnick, AR; Hayano, A; Perwitasari-Farajallah, D; Iskandriati, D; Sajuthi, D. A whole-arm translocation (WAT8/9) separating Sumatran and Bornean agile gibbons, and its evolutionary features. Chromosome Research 2005; 13: 123-133.

Mootnick, AR; Baker, E; Sheeran, LK. 2005 Familiarity during immaturity: Implications for captive breeding of gibbons. International Journal of Primatology. 26(6) 1417-1433

Hirai, H; Mootnick, AR; Takenaka, O; Suryobroto, B; Mouri, T; Kamanaka, Y; Katoh, A; Kimura, N; Katoh, A; Maeda, N. 2003. Genetic mechanism and property of a whole-arm translocation (WAT) between chromosomes 8 and 9 of agile gibbons (Hylobates agilis). Chromosome Research. 11(1) 37-50). View abstract only.

Lanford, RE; Chavez, D; Rico-Hesse, R; Mootnick, A. 2000. Hepadnavirus infection in captive gibbons. Journal of Virology. 74(6) 2955-2959. American Society for Microbiology. Used by permission. View abstract only.

Mootnick, AR; Ostrowski, SR. 1999. Procedures for primate quarantine at the International Center for Gibbon Studies. Journal of Zoo & Wildlife Medicine. 30(2) 201-207.

vanTuinen, P; Mootnick, A; Kingswood, S; Hale, D; Kumamoto, A. 1999. Complex Compound Inversion/Translocation Polymorphism in a Higher Primate: Presumptive intermediate stage in the karyotypic evolution of the agile gibbon (Hylobates agilis). American Journal Physical Anthropology. 110(2) 129-142.

Mootnick, A; Reingold, M; Holshuh, HJ; Mirkovic, RR. 1998. Isolation of a herpes simplex virus-like agent in the mountain agile gibbon (Hylobates agilis agilis). Journal of Zoo & Wildlife Medicine. 29(1) 61-64.

Mootnick, AR; Nadler, RD. 1997. Sexual behavior of maternally separated gibbons (Hylobates spp.). Developmental Psychobiology. 31(1) 149-161.

Mootnick, A; Baker, E. 1994. Masturbation in Captive Hylobates (Gibbons). Zoo Biology. 13(4) 345-353.

Stanyon, R; Sineo, L; Chiarelli, B; Camperio-Ciani, A; Mootnick, AR; Haimoff, EH; Sutarman, D. 1987. Banded karyotypes of the 44-chromosome gibbons. Folia Primatologica. 48(1-2) 56-64.

Prouty, LA; Buchanan, PD; Pollitzer, WS; Mootnick, AR. 1983. A presumptive new hylobatid subgenus with 38 chromosomes. Cytogenetics and Cell Genetics. 35(2) 141-142. View abstract only.

Prouty, LA; Buchanan, PD; Pollitzer, WS; Mootnick, AR. 1983. Bunopithecus: A genus-level taxon for the hoolock gibbon (Hylobates hoolock). American Journal of Primatology. 5(1) 83-87.

Editor Reviewed Book Publications:

Mootnick, AR; Wang, XM; Moisson, P; Chan, BPL; Fellowes, JR; Nadler, T. 2007. Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) (Thomas, 1892) China (Island of Hainan). Primates in peril: The world’s 25 Most Endangered primates, 2006-2008. RA Mittermeier, J Ratsimbazafy, AB Rylands, L Williamson, JF Oates, D Mbora, JU Ganzhorn, E Rodriguez-Luna, E Palacios, EW Heymann, MCecilia, M Kierulff, L Yongcheng, J Supriatna, C Roos, S Walker, JM Aguiar, (eds) Primate Conservation. 22:16-17. Press release announcing this book.

Mootnick, A. 2007. Gibbons. Pp 5-9. Guide to South Asian primates for teachers and students of all ages. S Walker, S Molur, (comp & eds). Zoo Outreach Organization, PSG South Asia and WILD, Coimbatore, India.

Mootnick, AR; Rylands, AB; Konstant, WR; 2006. Hainan black-crested gibbon (Nomascus nasutus hainanus) (Thomas, 1892) China (Island of Hainan). Primates in peril: The world's 25 most endangered primates, 2004-2006. RA Mittermeier, C Valladares-Padua, AB Rylands, AA Eudey, TM Butynski, JU Ganzhorn, R Kormos, JM Aguiar, S Walker, (eds) Primate Conservation 20:13-14

Badraun, JC; Mootnick, AR; Agoramoorthy, G; Deaner, R; McNeese, KM. 1998 Hand modulation of vocalization in siamangs (Hylobates syndactylus). International Zoo Yearbook. 36:84-89.

Mootnick, A. 1997 Management of gibbons Hylobates spp at the International Center for Gibbon Studies, California: with a special note on pileated gibbons (Hylobates pileatus). International Zoo Yearbook 35:271-279.

Mootnick, A. 1984 Census of gibbons in North America. Pp. 61-73. The Lesser Apes: Evolutionary and behavioral biology. H Preuschoft, DJ Chivers, WY Brockelman and N Creel, (eds) Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press.

Proceedings:

Chen, P-C; Hu, K-Y; Mootnick, AR; Chen, H-C; Yang, C-W. A survey of captive gibbons in Taiwan and South-east Asia. Xth Annual SEAZA Conference, Singapore, 2002.

Mootnick, AR. 2001. Captive breeding strategies used for gibbons at the International Center for Gibbon Studies (ICGS). The Apes: Challenges for
21st Century. Conference Proceedings. Brookfield: Brookfield Zoo. 361.

Mootnick, A. Gibbon Captive Management, Bandung, Indonesia, 2000.

Mootnick, A. 2000 Captive breeding strategies used for gibbons at the International Center for Gibbon Studies (ICGS) (abstract) and Report on Gibbon Conservation Workshop. The Apes: Challenges for the 21st Century, Chicago, IL. 349-350.

Mootnick, A. Gibbon Breeding in Captivity, Profile Workshop of Animals in Captivity at all Conservation Institutions in Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia, 2000.

Mootnick, A. 1999 Nutrition, health and sanitation standards used at the International Center for Gibbon Studies which could be applied at a Javan gibbon rescue. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Rescue and Rehabilitation. J Supriatna, BO Manullang (eds). Jakarta: Conservation International Indonesia Program. 20-24.

Mootnick, A. 1999 Protocols for non-human primate. Proceedings of the International Workshop of Java Gibbon (Hylobates moloch) Rescue and Rehabilitation. J Supriatna, BO Manullang, (eds). Jakarta: Conservation International Indonesia Program. 47-58.

Mootnick, A. Health and sanitation standards for gibbon studies. First international workshop on the management of wildlife rescue centers in South and Southeast Asia. G Agoramoorthy, K Pei, V Lin, (eds). National Pingtung University and Technology, Taiwan ROC, Zoos' Print, 1998.

Mootnick, A; Sheeran, LK. Gibbon taxonomy to be utilized for rescue centers. Great Apes of the World Conference, Kuching, Malaysia, 1998

Mootnick, A. Gibbon taxonomy to be utilized by breeding facilities. Proceedings, The VIIth Annual SEAZA Conference, Singapore, 47-52, 1997. View abstract only.

Mootnick, A. Nutrition, health and sanitation standards used at the International Center for Gibbon Studies which could be applied at a Javan gibbon rescue. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Rescue and Rehabilitation. 20-24, 1997.

Mootnick, A. Protocols for non-human primates. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Rescue and Rehabilitation. 47-58, 1997.

Mootnick, AR; Haimoff, EH; Nyunt-Lwin, K. Conservation and captive management of hoolock gibbons in the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma. AAZPA Annual Proceedings, Portland, Oregon. 398-424, 1987. (This is a large file. Download 1/2 at a time: Part 1, pages 398-411 and Part 2, pages 412-424)

Haimoff, EH; Mootnick, AR; Yang, X-J; He, S-J; Chen, N. Conservation and captive management of gibbons in Yunnan Province, Peoples Republic of China. AAZPA Annual Proceedings, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 109-125, 1986.

Haimoff, EH; Mootnick, A. Dichotomous key for the species identification of adult gibbons. AAZPA Regional Proceedings, Santa Barbara, CA. 76-79, 1983.

Abstracts:

Tanaka, H; Wijayanto, H; Mootnick, A; Perwitasari-Farajallah, D; Hayano, A; Hirai, H; Sajuthi, D. 2006. Subspecies relationships and their phylogenetic positions in agile gibbons (Hylobates agilis). Reichorui Kenkyu/Primate Research 22(Suppl) S9-S10.

Hayano, A; Tanaka, H; Wijayanto, H; Perwitasari-Farajallah, D; Mootnick, AR; Hirai, H. 2004. Genetic composition of agile gibbons and Muller's gibbons inferred from microsatellite analysis. Reichorui Kenkyu/Primate Research 20(Suppl) 43.

Hirai, H; Wijayanto, H; Tanaka, H; Mootnick, AR; Iskandriati, D; Perwitasari-Farajallah, D; Sajuthi, D. A chromosome landmark separating Sumatran and Bornean agile gibbons. The XXth Congress of the International Primatological Society, Torino, Italy, 197, August 22-28, 2004, Folio Primatologica 75(S1) 112-113.

Hirai, H; Wijayanto, H; Tanaka, H; Mootnick, AR; Hayano, A; Perwitasari-Farajallah, D; Iskandriati, D; Sajuthi, D. A remarkable chromosome marker separating Sumatran and Bornean agile gibbons. 2004. Genes & Genetic Systems. 79(6) 431.

Mootnick, AR; Baker, E; Merker, B. 2004. Hostile Anogenital Displays in Captive Hylobatidae. The XXth Congress of the International Primatological Society, Torino, Italy, 533, August 22-28, 2004, Folia Primatologica, 75 (S1) 306.

Hirai, H; Mootnick, AR; Takenaka, O; Suryobroto, B; Mouri, T; Kamanaka, Y; Katoh, A; Kimura, N; Maeda, N. 2002. Whole-arm translocation specific in the agile gibbon. Reichorui Kenkyu/Primate Research. 18(3) 364.

Mootnick, AR. The importance of stress reduction when housing gibbons in a captive setting. The XIXth Congress of the International Primatological Society, Beijing, China. August 4-9, 2002. 128-129.

Mootnick, AR. Physical and behavioral precautions that need to be considered before releasing gibbons into their native habitat. The XIXth Congress of the International Primatological Society. Beijing China, August 4-9, 2002. 99-100.

Mootnick, A. Captive breeding strategies that have been utilized for gibbons at the International center for Gibbon studies. IXth Annual SEAZA Conference, January 28, 2001.

Mootnick, A. Health and sanitation standards used at the International Center for Gibbon Studies which could be applied at rescue centers and zoos. The VIIIth Annual Conference of SEAZA, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 18, 1-3. November 1999.

Mootnick, A; Sheeran, LK. Gibbon taxonomy to be utilized for rescue centers. Great Apes of the World Conference, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, 036, July 3-6, 1998.

Mootnick, AR; Nadler, RD. Sexual behavior of maternally separated captive gibbons (Hylobates). XXth Conference of the American Society of Primatologists. San Diego, California, American Journal of Primatology, 42:120, June 30, 1997.

Mootnick, A. Gibbon taxonomy to be utilized by breeding facilities. The VIIth Annual SEAZA Conference, Singapore, 26, October 27-30 1997.

Mootnick, A; Ruvolo, M; Zehr, S; vanTuinen, P. Phenotypic and genetic evidence to support specific distinction of Hylobates a. agilis (mountain agile gibbon) from Hylobates agilis unko (lowland agile gibbon). XVIth Congress of the International Primatological Society, and the XIXth Conference of the American Society of Primatologists, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 481, August 11-16, 1996.

Zehr, S; Ruvolo, M; Heider, J; Mootnick, A. Gibbon phylogeny inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences., in American Association of Physical Anthropology, 1996 (Suppl 22) 251.

Mootnick, AR. Captive breeding of endangered gibbons. Southern California Academy of Sciences, California State University, Fullerton, 97, 1995.

Mootnick, AR; Baker, E; Sheeran, L. Incest in captive Hylobates (gibbons)., in The 31st annual meeting of the Animal Behavior Society. University of Washington, 157, 1994.

Mootnick, A; Van Benscoten, M; Haimoff, E. Dietary specializations of gibbons and a homeopathic approach towards maintaining captive specimens. Xth Conference of the American Society of Primatologists. Madison, Wisconsin, June 13-16, 1987. American Journal of Primatology, 12:361, 1987.

Mootnick, AR; Haimoff, EH. Species and sub-species identification of gibbons for use by zoological parks and breeding facilities. VIIIth Conference, American Society of Primatologists, Austin, Texas. American Journal of Primatology, 10:98, 1986.

Mootnick, AR; Maxwell, S. Sub-specific identification of concolor gibbons. VIth Conference, American Society of Primatologists, Arcata, California, June 29-July 3, 1984. American Journal of Primatology 6:393, 1984.

In Press:

none at this time

Reviewed Articles:

White-cheeked gibbon (Hylobates leucogenys) on Primate Info Net. Written by Kristina Cawthon. Reviewed by Alan Mootnick.

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A Captive Management Note for the Pileated Gibbon by Alan R. Mootnick

Peer Reviewed Journal Publications:

Proceedings:

Popular Articles:

Abstracts:

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A Captive Management Note for the Pileated Gibbon
by Alan R. Mootnick