Michael Lopez, age 10, of Guadalupe, California, for his question:

What are gibbons like?

The gibbon is a member of the monkey tribe, the animals that look most like people. Often they behave very much like people. So we tend to think they must be smarter than other animals. This may or may not be true. All the different animals are smart enough to get along in the world of nature. Each one copes with his corner of the world in his own way. That makes him just as smart as the gibbon, or any other member of the monkey tribe.

There are dozens of different monkeys, including a small group of special ones called the great apes. The 450 pound gorilla rates as a great ape. So do the 400¬pound orangutan and the 150 pound chimpanzee. So does the gibbon, though he weighs no more than 15 pounds. When he stands up as tall as possible, which he often does, the top of his head reaches three feet above the ground. The gibbon is not great in size. But there are other reasons why he is classed with the great apes.

The great apes have no monkey type tails. Neither does the gibbon. He has a larger and more useful brain than ordinary monkeys and his arms are longer. He has no cheek pouches to stuff with surplus snacks. These are the main features that qualify the small gibbon as a great ape.

This skinny little ape wears a thick, shaggy overcoat, down to his bare feet and clever hands. His head crouches low on narrow shoulders that slope down to extra long arms. But what you notice most is his little black face, peering out from his shaggy fur. He has a wide straight mouth, a stubby nose and large round eyes that seem to tell you that he is very interested    but a bit suspicious.

The gibbon loves tropical trees and always shares them with a noisy troupe of frisky friends and relatives. The hoolock gibbon lives in Burma. He has various cousins living in Cambodia and Indo China, Sumatra, and other warm jungle regions. But they look alike and live alike.

Every gibbon is a born acrobat who spends most of his day romping through the tree tops with a group of friends and relatives. He hunts for fruit, his favorite food. But he has plenty of time for chattering and friendly frolics. Sometimes the sprightly acrobat uses his long arms to take 40 foot flying leaps from bough to bough.

Sometimes he comes down for a stroll on the ground. He stands up as tall as possible on his rather short legs and walks along with his arms held high above his head. But at sunrise and sunset he is sure to join his group for a glee club session. Together they whoop and holler a chorus to start and finish their busy day.

In captivity, the chummy chimpanzee is fond of imitating his human friends. The gibbon is not so friendly and usually prefers to do things in his own way. But let's not be sure that the chimp is smarter because he chooses to act more like us. Let's not be sure that primates are smarter than other animals.. Perhaps they seem to behave more like us because they must solve their problems with human type hands and bodies.