Nomascus gabriellae
Silhouette: Kai R. Caspar · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The yellow-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae), also called the golden-cheeked gibbon, the yellow-cheeked crested gibbon, the golden-cheeked crested gibbon, the red-cheeked gibbon, or the buffed-cheeked gibbon, is a species of gibbon native to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The species was discovered and named after the British naturalist Gabrielle Maud Vassal.
The yellow-cheeked gibbon is born blond and later turns black. Males carry this colouring through their lifespan and have the distinguishing golden cheeks. Females are born blonde to blend into their mother's fur but they later turn black. Females turn back to blond at sexual maturity, keeping only a black cap on the top of their heads.
This diurnal and arboreal gibbon lives in primary tropical forest, foraging for fruits, using brachiation to move through the trees. Little is known about this species in the wild, but it is thought that it has a life span of approximately 46 years.
Gibbon groups vocalise loudly early in the morning. Their songs probably serve to defend resources such as territories, food trees, partners, but may also help to attract potential mates. Duetting occurs between mated pairs, the song is coordinated and contains sex-specific phrases. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 3 | ZooParc de Beauval | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Aquarium de Lyon | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Beijing Wildlife Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 7 | Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | |
| 8 | Parc animalier de Sainte-Croix | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Shenzhen Safari Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 10 | Chongqing Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 11 | Nanning Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 12 | Burgers' Ocean | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 13 | Edinburgh Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 14 | Parc Zoologique et Botanique de Mulhouse | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 15 | Parken Zoo | 🇸🇪 Sweden | |
| 16 | Ljubljana Zoo | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 17 | Monkey World | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 18 | Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 19 | Naples Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Pyrénées Animal Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 21 | Zoo di Pistoia | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 22 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 23 | Bioparc Fuengirola | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 24 | Johor Zoo | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 25 | Aviary | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 26 | COEX Aquarium | 🇰🇷 South Korea | |
| 27 | Ocean Park Hong Kong | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 28 | Zee Aquarium Bergen aan Zee | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Yellow-cheeked Gibbon sighting in Cat Tien National Park on a given day, based on 300 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 28 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Yellow-cheeked Gibbon in Cat Tien National Park on a given day, against about 40% in June and August–September, the lowest months. That is one of Cat Tien National Park's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 490 mm in July.
Between midnight and 3 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Yellow-cheeked Gibbon sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Cat Tien National Park, in our data
Cat Tien National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Southern Yellow-cheeked Gibbon sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Primates
The closest relatives of the Southern Yellow-cheeked Gibbon that you can see in Cat Tien National Park (order Primates) are Black-shanked Douc Langur (about 60%), Crab-eating Macaque (about 30%) and Northern Pig-tailed Macaque (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Yellow-cheeked Gibbon is recorded against all the mammals logged in Cat Tien National Park (300 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
