Looking at fossils and other remains, it is thought that 1000 years ago, the range of this gibbon covered much of Southern China, up to the Yellow river. Perhaps more research is required, as if all these sub-species are this recent, then it may be worth treating them as one mega population and translocating gibbons between the populations so as to retain genetic health in the greater population. The total population is thought to number 1300-2000 (other estimates put the upper limit at 1500).

 

There are also two species of gibbon that were at once a considered subspecies of the black crested gibbon. While these are now considered separate species, there is still some debate about their classification, and as such, I am going to deal with these separate species within this page as well. These are the 

Apart from their isolation, and the greater population being stuck in islands of forest, there also appears to be an issue with grey langurs out-competing the gibbons. Whether this is reducing their population or not is not yet known, but having a more varied diet, when times are hard the langurs are more likely to survive