Arms Built for Trees Make Gibbons Hilariously Bad Walkers

Quick Take

• Gibbons are built for aerial perfection, yet that same anatomy becomes a liability the moment they touch ground. See how anatomy backfires →
• Raising your arms to run faster sounds counterintuitive, but for gibbons it is not a quirk. It is a necessity. Discover why arms rise when walking →
• No other primate faces quite this trade-off between tree life and ground movement, and the way gibbons solve it turns out to be stranger than it looks. Explore the trade-off explained →
• An arm span nearly twice the length of their legs sounds impressive, though that changes as soon as you have to walk somewhere. Check the arm-span highlights →

Gibbons are some pretty funny animals that have a specific way they run around. Whether you’ve seen them at the zoo or online, seeing them walk around on the ground rather than trees is always hilarious. When they walk, they keep their hands held up in the air, and they flail around like they don’t have much control over them. This YouTube Short by @orangutanenthusiast shows a pair of gibbons running around. Watch the video above to learn more.

Why Gibbons Walk Funny

Gibbons have a very distinct build that is perfect for their habitats. They are among the most arboreal of all primates, rarely or almost never touching the ground. Gibbons inhabit tropical forests throughout Southeast Asia in countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. One of their most notable features is their long arms and hook-like hands that grip strongly to branches. Their bodies are built for tropical forests, as they spend their time swinging and reaching out for distant branches. With an arm span of about eight to 10 feet and shoulders that can rotate almost 360 degrees, there isn’t a better place for these primates to be. But what happens when they need to run along the ground?

The video above is a funny look at the difficulties gibbons have when running around. While height depends on the species, most gibbons’ arms can grow to around one and a half times the length of their legs. This means their arms can actually get in the way. Imagine trying to run, but every time you pump your arms, they scrape against the ground. Unfortunately for gibbons, this is their reality, and so they have to adapt how they move. This makes for some pretty funny moments as they flail them while holding them in the air. Reminiscent of inflatable tube men, gibbons are entertainingly awkward animals.