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'The language of Gibbonology is really a difficult one'

Scientists have managed to translate the secret language of the gibbon for the first time.

Professor Ulrich Reichard from Southern Illinois University studied the gibbon's calls and said they use "one call type, the 'hoo', and adapt it to different contexts".

Situations in which a gibbon may 'hoo' include "encounters with other groups" or after "seeing a predator."

"The language of Gibbonology is really a difficult one" he added.

The findings were published in the journal "BMC Evolutionary Biology".

This clip is from 5 live Drive on Wed 8 April 2015.

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