Tropic+World+--+Asia

**//As you walk into Asia, you'll notice that the setting is much quieter.

The exhibit separates free swinging white cheeked gibbons from the quieter, more sedentary orangutans.

The gibbons are well adapted to life in the trees. Their long arms and strong grip allow them to swing easily from branch to branch. They can leap up to 20 feet from a standstill to grab hold of a supporting branch. Living in heavy foliage, the gibbons rely on loud vocalizations to identify each other, and claim their territory. Males and females use different calls, 'singing' duets. Males and females look and sound different. Females are light colored, being either buff or light brown, but males are black. Babies are born light colored to blend in with their mother's fur, developing their adult coloring later.

Click here to learn more about white cheeked gibbons .//** **//White Cheeked Gibbon//**

Orangutans are quiet giants. A male orangutan can grow to be 4.5 feet tall, and weigh as much as 200 pounds. Females are slightly smaller at less than 4 feet and about 100 pounds.
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Because of their size, they cannot live in large groups. Their habitat would not be able to support more than a few animals. Although orangutans are so large, they live almost exclusively in the trees. They do not swing like gibbons, but are still able to maneuver effectively by using their wieght and strong arms to bend branches.

More information on orangutans can be found here. //** **//Orangutan//**


 * //On the floor of the exhibit you'll see small clawed otters swimming in the lagoon. Notice how playful they are. All that play, especially among young otters, helps to reinforce social connections and sharpen their hunting skills. Click here to learn more about asian small clawed otters[[image:Asian_Small_Clawed_Otter.jpg width="199" height="121" caption="Asian_Small_Clawed_Otter.jpg"]] .//** **//Asian Small Clawed Otter//**


 * //You can learn more about orangutans and what it takes for them to survive in the wild by playing the Orangutan Island Adventure game. Just click here to give it a try! //** **//Orangutan Island Adventure//**