An observation report discussion about the behavior of a Siamas (Hylob

An observation report discussion about the behavior of a Siamas (Hylobates Syndactylus) Specie: Hylobates Syndactylus Order: Primate Diet: fruits, leaves and insects Location: Zoo Negara Time: 12pm- 3pm Date: 05 February 2010 Colour: Black Gender: Male I visited Zoo Negara Negara to observe the Siamang which is a gibbon. Siamang has a large inflated larynx sac which looks grey in colour which it uses to make loud sounds and is located right below its chin. It usually makes the sounds in the morning. It is categorized as an ape because, it has no tail and is very intelligent. It is similar to other gibbons in the sense that it has ischial callosities which is the horny pads on its buttocks which are very tough. I was mainly interested in observing its interaction with me and other humans, also with its neighboring animals, which was placed right next to its cage in both the left and the right side, the cage was next to other gibbons, the one on the left was the same type of species called Hylobates Syndactylus and it looked like as if it was a mother and her child. The other one in the right was a genus Hylobates ape which was also a mother and her child. I also wanted to observe how it shows that it was desperately in need of food, the way it excrete, its facial features and body signals. I prepared everything that I needed to carry out the observation. I took a pen and my new diary which I used to record everything that I saw the gibbon doing that was applicable to what I specifically wanted to observe. At first I had assumed that the zoo cage would not be that much well facilitated and to my surprise I was wrong. As I approached the Siamang cage, there were trees inside the cage, robes that was hanging from different position and there were some that was designed like a swing so that the animal can play around in the cage. Above the ground, next to the tree branches was a bed designed like a swing which looked like it was his resting place. At the end of the cage there was a cemented place where there were holes on the wall to insert its food. When I arrived it was setting down but immediately when it saw me, it came running towards me and held the fence with both hands and attached its legs to the fence. When it noticed that I was eating pop corns, it started licking its left hand and its mouth widely open and touched its lower jaw from the inside with its left hand fingers. It then reached out its left hand out of the fence with its fingers fully stretched. I ignored it and it ran to its food placement to check if the workers have placed any food for it and luckily after a long search it came back with a banana. It was walking with both of its hands lifted up with its fingers facing down. It was looking at me when it climbed on to a tree to eat. It heard the sound of my pop corn plastic and it came running to beg again. I ignored it again. It then began lick its hands again and started eating fresh leaves which it cut from the plant just next to its cage. It detached a branch from the plant and held it with its hands and legs while sitting down and ate the leaves with its mouth. It then started to shake both hands when it finished and sat down for some time. Then I cut leaves from the plant and threw them near its cage and it was watching me and the leaves on my hand. It watched where they fell first, the two of them and when it saw that I have stopped, it then searched for them and ate them one at a time. When searching for the leaves, it actually searched close to where they fell. After it finished eating the leaves, it saw its neighboring apes eating their food, it ran to watch them and after a while went to check if its own food