In the jungle, the sound of silence is a cacophony. A chorus of insects, birds, mammals and reptiles Talk within and across species, often to each other’s benefit. The dark lar, or white-handed gibbon, is a particularly adept vocalist, and its range has been compared to an opera Singer’s. Like the langurs of the Subcontinent, the white-handed gibbon’s calls communicate among members of a troupe and also serve as an alarm for approaching predators and intruders for other species. Unfortunately, the soprano of the simians is singing less. A report in The Guardian about research by an international team on the dark lar in Malaysia shows how the animal is less vocal when it is close to human settlements. A growing body of research shows how the constant noise from “civilisation” is affecting animals. In the case of social animals like the gibbon, their silence in response to traffic could affect their community life. The greater impact may be on other species that rely on the dark lar’s call as an alarm. In the jungle, the monkey warns the deer, the vulture and dung beetle keep things running. Of course, there is no going back to a kind of nature without human influence. And people need to live, work and travel — the noise of man is its own sign of life. In some tragedies, there are no villains. And if the gibbon stops singing, it would be tragic indeed.
