Hainan Gibbon

By Ben Garrod and Gabriel Ugueto

TV scientist Ben Garrod presents the biggest extinction events ever, told from the point of view of evolution's superstars, the most incredible animals ever to swim, stalk, slither or walk our planet. Whether you're 9 or 90, his unique exploration of the most destructive, yet most creative, force in nature makes top level science fun.

Can we make the Hainan gibbon a super-survivor? It's one of our closest living relatives and among the most endangered animals on our planet. Can we change our role in the story of life, from being super-careless to being super-savers and do what we can to help our most interesting, incredible and important species from going extinct? The future depends on us.

'An absolutely fascinating read... Highly recommended.' BookTrust

Collect all eight books about animals we have lost in mass extinctions caused by asteroids or mega-volcanoes, clashing continents and climate change. Past brought to full-colour life by palaeoartist Gabriel Ugueto

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: May 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781838935498

Ben Garrod

Ben Garrod is Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Science Engagement at the University of East Anglia. He broadcasts regularly on TV and radio, most recently the BBC Mammoth Hunters documentary with Sir David Attenborough and BBC This Morning for a new dinosaur discovery, and is trustee and ambassador of a number of key conservation organisations. His previous books include The Chimpanzee and Me and his eight-book series Extinct, The Story of Life on Earth, published by Zephyr. Ben lives in Bristol and Norwich. Find Ben @Ben_garrod on Twitter and Instagram and bengarrod.co.uk

Book preview

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IN THIS SERIES BY BEN GARROD AND GABRIEL UGUETO

Hallucigenia

Dunkleosteus

Trilobite

Lisowicia

Tyrannosaurus rex

Megalodon

Thylacine

ALSO BY BEN GARROD

The Chimpanzee and Me

So You Think You Know About Dinosaurs? series:

Diplodocus

Triceratops

Spinosaurus

Tyrannosaurus rex

Stegosaurus

Velociraptor

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Ben Garrod

Illustrated by Gabriel Ugueto

AN IMPRINT OF HEAD OF ZEUS

www.headofzeus.com

This is a Zephyr book, first published in the UK in 2022 at Head of Zeus Ltd,

part of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Text copyright © Ben Garrod, 2022

Artwork copyright © Gabriel Ugueto, 2022

The moral right of Ben Garrod to be identified as the author and of Gabriel Ugueto to be identified as the artist of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN (HB): 9781838935474

ISBN (E): 9781838935498

Head of Zeus Ltd

5–8 Hardwick Street

London EC1R 4RG

WWW.HEADOFZEUS.COM

Climate change is the greatest threat to human health in the 21st century.’

The World Health Organisation

CONTENTS

Also by Ben Garrod

Title Page

Copyright

Epigraph

Introduction

img3.jpg What is Extinction?

img4.jpg Ask the Expert

img5.jpg Why Do Species Go Extinct?

img6.jpg Diseases, Predation and Competition

img7.jpg Coextinction

img8.jpg Genetic Mixing

img9.jpg Habitat Destruction

img10.jpg Climate Change

img11.jpg Timeline

img12.jpg Mass Extinctions

img13.jpg Ask the Expert

img14.jpg Hainan Gibbon

img15.jpg Hainan Gibbon: Discovery

img16.jpg Hainan Gibbon: Anatomy

img17.jpg Hainan Gibbon: Classification

img18.jpg Hainan Gibbon: Ecology & Environment

img19.jpg Hainan Gibbon: Behaviour

img20.jpg Ask the Expert

img21.jpg The Anthropocene Mass Extinction

img22.jpg Causes

img23.jpg Effects

img24.jpg Ask the Expert

img24.jpg Conservation

Glossary

Collect all eight titles in the EXTINCT series

About the Author

About the Illustrator

An Invitation from the Publisher

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INTRODUCTION

FOR AS LONG as there has been life on Earth, there has been extinction, and in time, all species will go extinct. Every day, we hear more and more tragic stories about more and more species closer to extinction. There are scientists, conservationists, charities, universities, communities and a few good governments fighting to save some of our most treasured species and habitats. But, and there is a but to this story, extinction has its place in our world and, at the right level and at the right time, it is a perfectly natural occurrence and can even help evolution in some ways.

I am a scientist. It’s the best job in the world. In my work, I look at evolution and I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with some of the most endangered species on our planet, as well as some that have already gone extinct. I’m fascinated by the effects extinction has on nature. But how much do we really know about extinction?

If we are to stand a chance of saving species from extinction, then first we need to understand extinction itself. What is extinction? What causes it? What happens when many species go extinct at once? I want to explore extinction as a biological process and investigate why it can sometimes be a positive thing for evolution, as well as nature’s most destructive force. Let’s put it under the microscope and find out everything there is to know.

When a species is declared extinct, we place a dagger symbol (†) next to its name when it’s listed or mentioned in a scientific manner. So, if you do see the name of a species with a little dagger after it, you’ll know why. It’s extinct. In this series, I have written about eight fantastic species. Starting with Hallucigenia (†), then Dunkleosteus (†) trilobites (†), Lisowicia (†), Tyrannosaurus rex (†) and megalodon (†), before finishing with thylacine (†) and lastly, the Hainan gibbon. Of these, only the Hainan gibbon does not have a dagger next to its scientific name, meaning it is an animal we still have a chance of saving from extinction.

The eagle-eyed among you will notice I’ve approached this book slightly differently from the other titles in the series. I’ve asked four experts – a psychologist, a marine ecologist, an earth scientist and a primatologist – to share their knowledge with