Range Description

This species is found in eastern Bangladesh, northeastern India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura), and northwestern Myanmar (west of the Chindwin River). It might possibly occur in China (extreme southeastern Tibet). The distribution in India is restricted to points south of the Brahmaputra and east of the Dibang (Dingba Qu) Rivers (Choudhury 2001). Animals that once were common in the plains of Arunachal Pradesh (northeasternmost India) before that habitat was cultivated for agriculture and tea are not so anymore (Islam and Feeroz 1992).

The boundary between the two species of Hoolock is the Chindwin River, which flows into the Ayerawady (Irrawady) River. At the headwaters in the north there is a hybrid zone or cline between the two species (since they are almost certainly not reproductively isolated). Das et al. (2006) reported the discovery of a population of H. leuconedys in Arunachal Pradesh, northeast India, which has traditionally been considered to be part of the range of H. hoolock.