King of the swingers: Gutsy gibbon ditches the monkey bars to show off his tightrope walking skills

By Jessica Satherley


Acrobatics: The Gibbon balancing on the Liana vine in the Tanjung Puting National Park in Borneo, Indonesia


Forget monkey bars, this gutsy gibbon clearly prefers the trickier task of the tightrope.

The playful primate looked footloose and fancy free as he strutted his stuff on a branch in Borneo - mimicking the movements of an acrobat.

The Hylobates agilis, also known as the Black-Handed Gibbon or the lesser ape, captivated tourists with his agile antics.


As he sprinted skillfully back and forth across a branch, wildlife photographer Thomas Marent, captured the entire comic episode on camera.

The 45-year-old from Baden, near Zurich, Switzerland was shooting orangutans at the Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesia when the talented gibbon came into view.

Thomas said: "The gibbon didn't seem to trust us at first but as soon as he saw a crowd gathering the shyness just seemed to go.

"Our tour guide had pieces of banana and each time the gibbon would run across the branch to get to it.


Show off: The confident gibbon strutted his stuff on the branch in front of tourists and was photographed by Thomas Marent.


Motivation: The tour guide had pieces of banana and each time the gibbon would run across the branch to get to it

"That's when we saw what an amazing talent he had and I managed to get the shot I was aiming for.

"He seemed to really enjoy showing off and went back and forth several times.

"This made the shoot easy despite the dark dense canopy of the rainforest.

"I know Gibbons are the acrobats among the Asian primates but I have never seen anything like this before. It was spectacular.

"I started making a living from photography five years ago and have photographed landscapes, architecture and people but nothing could ever fascinate me as much as wildlife."


source:dailymail