Cook's arrival at the zoo

For the first time since the beginning of quarantine a rare animal arrived to Mykolaiv Zoo from abroad!

For more than a year, due to the coronavirus pandemic and related to it restrictions on air travel, animals from abroad could not be transferred to Mykolaiv Zoo. And finally, on June 9, 2021, female lar gibbon (Hylobates lar) named Cuci arrived.

Cuci was born on April 25, 2012 in Skopje Zoo (Republic of North Macedonia), and she was transferred to us from this zoo. The animal was transported by plane, she underwent the flight well and now Cuci is gradually getting used to the new place. This female arrived at Mykolaiv Zoo as a pair to our male lar gibbon.

Cuci is very cute, with "plush" fur of a beautiful coffee color. And she is a real "chubby", because as our colleagues from Skopje Zoo said – she "loves to eat". Her favorite food is bananas.

Lar gibbon or white-handed gibbon is a species of primate of the gibbon family (Hylobatidae). It is one of the most famous species of the family which you can often see in zoos. The natural range of white-handed gibbons stretches from southwestern China and eastern Myanmar to the Malay Peninsula. These animals are also found in northwestern Sumatra and Java. Lar gibbons are active during the day. With their strong and long arms they move along the branches by brachiation, that is, swinging their arms from one branch to another. White-handed gibbons lead a monogamous lifestyle and couples remain together during all their life. Family groups live in well-defined areas, the boundaries of which are marked by gibbons through singing. Lar gibbons are endangered species.