Meet Shawn Shawn
Shawn Shawn is the world’s first hybrid ape and is a combination of two endangered species, the white handed gibbon (Hylobates lar) and the siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus) which are both native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. She was born in 1975 in a research facility that didn’t want her because she was an accidental hybrid, so they surrendered her to Noah’s Ark in 1995. She may be an older lady, but she still has plenty of spunk! Shawn Shawn is a very vocal, outgoing primate who will reach through her enclosure and viciously grab whichever staff member is standing too close to her enclosure, and then run off and vocalize about her victory. She is extremely intelligent and social, and loves to be groomed by the 2 spider monkeys she lives with. Her favorite treat is a head of dark leaf lettuce with healthy cereal pieces hidden in-between the leaves. Average life expectancy for gibbons and siamangs is 35 to 45 years old.
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