Endangered Gibbon Released in India
Rare Hoolock Gibbon Successfully Rehabilitated and Returned to Wild
Jul 14, 2008
Siloni, the young female hoolock gibbon, has no idea of the importance of her release. But for the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and India's Department of Environment and Forests, returning this animal to the wild has opened up the possibility of improving the situation of endangered gibbons in fragmented forest areas.
The Hoolock Gibbon
The hoolock gibbon (Bunopithecus hoolock), listed as Endangered since 1994, is found only in Bangladesh, Assam province in India, Yunnan province in China and in Myanmar. Tree dwellers of the deep forest, it has been difficult to determine whether their numbers are continuing to decrease.
A highly territorial mated pair of hoolock gibbons and their offspring form small troupes. New mates are found in neighboring areas. But deforestation has become a major problem in the gibbon’s home range. This fragmented habitat makes it difficult to move to find potential mates, or to establish new territories.
Siloni’s Release
While it is too early to call the release a full success, the results so far are promising. Once Siloni was old enough, WTI's next concern was finding an appropriate reintroduction site. Releasing the young primate into an area where a family group already existed would result in her being chased out of the territory or worse, being injured or killed.
Release of a captive-reared primate into an area with no other gibbons would be just as bad. In Siloni's case finding food, knowing where to sleep to be safe from predators and other skills that would have been learned in the family group were minimal.
Release into an area with no possibility of finding a mate also meant that one of the main goals of the Wildlife Trust of India’s rehabilitation program would not be met: Siloni would not contribute to increasing the wild population.
The organization found a solitary male in a protected forest in north India and built a pre-release enclosure high in a tree there. The male gibbon soon began visiting and the cage was opened. Siloni is exploring her new environment and the two are continuing to spend time together.
What This Release Means For Hoolock Gibbon Survival
In Siloni’s case, the first step of finding a mate has occurred. But that is just the first step. Continued monitoring will tell whether Siloni will be able to survive long term in the face of predators and other threats, and whether the two will produce offspring. The next year or two will be critical.
If everything goes well the efforts may lead to another option for increasing hoolock gibbon populations in fragmented forest areas of India. Capturing solitary individuals and moving them to an area with another solitary individual would increase the breeding population. The temporary enclosure protects the new animal until it is clear that the two gibbons will get along.
As with any effort to manipulate endangered species, concerns about the dangers of capture, issues of disease transmission and genetic compatibility must all be considered before such a program is started.
But these two primates have answered one key question-Is it possible to translocate solitary hoolock gibbons to increase the possibility of increasing the population? The answer is yes.
To learn more about the plight of another gibbon species see:
China's White Handed Gibbon Gone?
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