During activities such as eating and grooming, gibbons exhibit periods of vigilance, during which they stop their activity and scan the area for potential threats (Kappeler 1981). Following singing and other noisy or obvious behaviors, gibbons will quietly migrate to a new area in order to avoid being found by a predator (Kappeler 1981).

Man has become a major threat to the gibbon, through activities such as poaching and forest destruction. Forest clearings may cause gibbons to come down from the trees in order to migrate to new areas, which puts them at significant risk (Choudhury 1991). The overall destruction of forests leaves room for fewer gibbon territories, which makes competition for survival much fiercer. Gibbon young have become popular exotic pets as well, and a mother gibbon must often be killed in order to retrieve the infant (Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary 2004). Even after the mother is killed (often the father is also killed while trying to defend his family), nine out of ten attempts in retrieving the infant are unsuccessful and result in death of the infant (Monkeyland Primate Sanctuary 2004). In addition, fresh gibbon brains are considered a delicacy and are often served while the gibbon is still alive (Monekyland Primate Santuary 2004).