Get
To Know
|
 The
Siamang
(Symphalangus syndactylus) is a tailless, arboreal, black furred gibbon
inhabits the forest remnants of Sumatra Island and the Malay Peninsula,
and is widely distributed from lowland forest to montane forest, even
a rainforest. Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park is the third largest
protected area (3,568 kmē) in Sumatra, of which approximately 2,570 kmē
remains under forest cover inhabit by 22,390 siamangs. The Siamang's melodious
choir singing breaks the forest's silence in the early morning. The largest
of the lesser apes, the Siamang can be twice the size of other gibbons,
reaching 1 m in height, and weighing up to 14 kg.
The Siamang eats at least 160 species of plants, from vines to woody plants.
It also eats flowers and a few animals, mostly insects. Although the Siamang
can live up to 30+ years, the illegal pet trade takes a toll on wild populations.
Poachers kill the mothers because mother Siamang are highly protective
of their infants. A major threat to the Siamang is habitat loss due to
plantation, forest fire, illegal logging, encroachment, and human development.
Palm oil plantations have removed large areas of the Siamang's habitat
in the last four decades. These and other illegal activities have devastated
their remaining tropical rainforest especially in Sumatra.
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Like the poor, the comfortable
you will always have with you.
They hold good jobs, then
get better ones. Like coyotes
they grin and walk slowly
in circles. They hire,
even fire each other.
They wed their own kind
and selectively proliferate.
Theirs is a constant harvest.
Their voices are a sediment
thickening on everything.
Donal Mahoney has worked as an editor for The Chicago
Sun-Times, Loyola University Press and Washington University in St.
Louis. A Pushcart nominee, he has had poems published in The Wisconsin
Review, The Kansas Quarterly, The South Carolina Review,
The Beloit Poetry Journal, Commonweal, Public Republic
(Bulgaria), Revival (Ireland), The Istanbul Literary Review
(Turkey), Calliope Nerve, Rivets, Pig in a Poke,
Deuce Coupe, Asphodel Madness, Pirene's Fountain
(Australia) and other publications.
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The
Siamang
- Issue Seven