The Akron Zoo's family of white-cheeked gibbons has a new member with a name: meet Leuco. The male baby gibbon, who saw the world on June 27, was named after a public contest that engaged the community in the celebratory process. Picked from a shortlist of five, the name Leuco, a nod to the scientific moniker Nomascus leucogenys, stood out and was eventually confirmed by the gibbons themselves, as reported by cleveland.com.
During an enrichment activity designed for both the gibbons' enjoyment and the final naming ceremony, the top two name contenders, Leuco and Coda, were up for the final selection. The gibbons made their preference clear when the item labeled Leuco was touched first, as Cleveland19 detailed. Leuco joins his older sister, Lolani, born to the same parents in 2021, who is said to be acclimating well to her role as an older sibling, a position that helps female gibbons develop maternal skills.
Parker, the mother gibbon at Akron's habitat, and Milo, the father, have now welcomed their second offspring in what the zoo community sees as a hopeful sign for endangered species. "Parker continues to be an amazing mother and Leuco is doing well," the zoo mentioned in a release. This information was shared by WKYC, highlighting the family's full-time presence at their habitat, observable by the public.
The white-cheeked gibbons, native to Southeast Asia, are part of a species facing critical challenges due to habitat loss, primarily from deforestation for palm oil plantations. With numbers dwindling by around 80% over the last half-century, efforts by institutions like the Akron Zoo become increasingly vital for conservation. The zoo itself is active in bringing attention not just to the cute faces of its inhabitants but also to the harsh realities they face in the wild, an urgency echoed by their educational materials and programs aimed at fostering awareness and action.
