Siamang at the Dickerson Park Zoo (©Dickerson Park Zoo)
By Jennifer McKee
Do your friends and family characterize you as “loud?” Do you have the energy level of a primate? Now’s the time to put it to good use: the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri is hosting the “Can You Sing Like a Siamang?” contest.
Siamangs, the largest of the gibbons, are native to the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The distinguishing feature of these black-furred gibbons is the large throat sac (which can become as large as a grapefruit) that they inflate during vocalizations.
Think your voice box is up to the muster? Grab a partner, create an original song and email a 60-second or shorter audio track to [email protected]. In the email, include the names of the singers and songwriter(s). Submissions are due by June 13. Semi-finalists will be selected from audio submissions and announced the week of June 14.
Need some inspiration? Watch the siamangs do their thing. For more information and contest rules, visit the zoo’s Facebook page.
