Pileated gibbon family, Angkor

Species: Pileated gibbon; Hylobates pileatus
IUCN status: Endangered
Location: Angkor Archaeological Park
Observed: 1 November 2026
Individuals: Pingpeeang, Bakheng

I went to see if the gibbons were about. Listening for their calls in the late afternoon is usually the best bet, but today, despite the commotion at the pagoda as everyone got ready for the Kathin procession, the kind guide (she knows I'm always looking for the gibbons) called me over and pointed up.

There was Bakheng, the male, just a few metres above us. Khmom, their eldest, raced around above him before Pingpeeang came down with her new baby. She stayed, looking down at the small crowd of Khmer below, until we all moved off to join the procession around the Bayon.

That was pretty freaking magical in its own right. I've been to Kathin celebrations in the countryside, but walking round the Bayon with everyone was something special.

Wildlife Alliance has been bringing rescued wildlife back to the forests of Angkor since 2013, and families like this one are the result. If you have enjoyed these photographs, please consider supporting their work.

Programme context

Pingpeeang (her name means "spider" in Khmer) was born in the forest at Angkor in September 2014, the first baby of Saraynick and Baray, the first pair of gibbons released there in December 2013. She was paired with Bakheng, a male from the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, and the two have lived wild together since 2021. They are part of Wildlife Alliance's rewilding project at Angkor, run with the APSARA National Authority and the Forestry Administration.