Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, U.K. is proud to announce the arrival of a baby Lar Gibbon born to mother Mugwai and father Gremlin on Thursday 5th January 2012. Mother and Baby are doing very well. Section Leader of Primates, Steve Goodwin says, “This is the first baby for Mugwai, but she is proving to be a really good mum. We haven't been able to get close enough to sex the baby yet, and we're excited to find out if it is a boy or a girl.”
Also known as a White-headed Gibbon, this endangered species is threatened in the wild by habitat destruction, the illegal pet trade, and poaching.
The Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo, is happy to announce the birth of a male White-Cheeked Gibbon on November 15. The 1-month-old infant—along with his mom, Indah; dad, Benny; and 2-year-old brother, Thani—can be seen on exhibit in the zoo’s Tropic World: Asia exhibit daily between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Since his birth, the infant has been keeping a close grip on his mom. He will stay in contact and be carried by Indah for a few more months. As he gets older, he will begin to explore the habitat on his own, become more independent, and play with his brother and dad.
All White-cheeked Gibbons are born with a blond coat matching their mother’s coat, a form of camouflage. The new male Gibbon will retain this light coloring until it begins to turn dusky when he is half a year old. By the time he reaches his first birthday, the young Gibbon will be sporting a black coat with light cheek patches, like his dad and brother. He will retain this coloration for life. Females turn black and then back to blond again, with a small patch of black on their crown, when they reach sexual maturity at around 6 to 8 years of age.
Indah, 23, and Benny, 26, have been together at Brookfield Zoo since August 1995. Indah was born at Minnesota Zoological Garden, and Benny was born in Leipzig, Germany. They are managed as a breeding pair based on a recommendation by the Gibbon Species Survival Plan (SSP) of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). An SSP is a cooperative conservation program for the long-term management of an endangered species’ breeding, health, and welfare in North American zoos. Jay Petersen, curator of mammals for the Chicago Zoological Society, is the Gibbon SSP coordinator. With the assistance of the Gibbon SSP Management Group, he is responsible for management goals for all gibbons in AZA zoos and for breeding recommendations to ensure the sustainability of a healthy, genetically diverse, and demographically varied North American white-cheeked gibbon population. Currently, 83 white-cheeked gibbons live in accredited North American zoos.
A rare baby Gibbon born at Perth Zoo eight weeks ago is thriving thanks to around the clock care by Perth Zoo staff. Weighing just 610 grams (21 oz.) at birth, White-cheeked Gibbon Nakai is being bottle fed and cared for by Zoo staff until he can be reunited with his mother who had difficulties caring for him shortly after the birth. Nakai is being bottle fed baby milk formula nine times a day including night feeds and has almost doubled his birth weight. He now weighs 1050 grams – just over 37 oz.
Photo and video credits: Perth Zoo
“The White-cheeked Gibbon is a critically endangered species quite literally on the brink of extinction so Nakai and every single gibbon is precious,” says Holly Thompson, Perth Zoo keeper and one of Nakai’s primary carers. Read below the fold for more pictures.
“Nakai spent the first few weeks of his life in a humidicrib to maintain his body temperature but now sleeps in a warm room with his teddy bear which is his surrogate mother for now.”
“We exercise him daily, stretching his arms and swinging him while he hangs on to help strengthen his arms and encourage natural gibbon behaviour. His upper body strength is really developing now and his overall progress has been amazing.
Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo has confirmed their newest swinging sensation, a baby white-cheeked gibbon, is a boy – and boy is he cute! The 3-month-old critically endangered ape has also been given a name. “The baby has been named Sai, (pronounced ‘sigh’), which means ‘son’ in Burmese said Lincoln Park Zoo Curator of Primates Maureen Leahy. “He is the third offspring – all sons – for the mother Burma and father Caruso.” Lincoln Park Zoo is significantly involved in ape conservation efforts in the wild to help secure a long term future for endangered apes.
“Sai has been transforming right before my eyes over the last 3 months,” said Leahy. “His hair is beginning to darken in color, his baby teeth have grown in – he’s got an impressive set of choppers – and he’s already starting to venture an arm’s length away from his mother, reaching out to test his long arms on hanging vines,” said Leahy. Check out the chompers on this little guy below!
Photo credits: #1 and #2 John Kortas, #3 Anita Yantz, #4 Lisa Rank (below)
There is a lot of oohing and aahing at Lincoln Park Zoo’s primate house. A critically endangered White-Cheeked Gibbon gave birth to a healthy infant on Jan 6. Curator of Primates Maureen Leahy reported, “The parents are doing great and the infant is a good size with a tight grip and has been seen nursing.” The infant has yet to be sexed or named.
This is the third offspring for mother Burma and father Caruso. White-cheeked gibbons are believed to pair bond for life, and can have offspring every 2-3 years after a 7-8-month gestation period.
We have been sitting on some great news from the UK's Blackpool Zoo. On May 7th, the zoo's Western Lowland Gorilla 'Miliki' gave birth to a bouncing baby boy! This exciting news came just one day after the birth of a Pileated Gibbon. Both species are endangered in the wild, and so these births are significant to worldwide conservation efforts, as well as to Blackpool Zoo.
Well, he's really a White-Handed Gibbon. Photographer Paul Becker captured these shots last week while visiting the Cincinnati Zoo. The two-month-old Gibbon is named Possum. In the wild, White-Handed Gibbons (Lar Gibbons) are threatened by poaching for bushmeat and capture for the pet trade. The largest danger, however, is the loss of habitat in their native Southeast Asia. Incidentally, any experts out there know what species Yoda is, technically?
Photo Credits: Paul Becker taken at Cincinnati Zoo
While he may have lost his parachute pants, Walli the White-Cheeked Gibbon is growing up and favoring a more sophisticated setting. In these bold photographs by the Life On White team, we get a look at the now 5-month-old baby baller at his most refined. Born last November at Schwerin Zoo, Walli is a true ambassador for this critically endangered species.
A baby gibbon sits on a swing in its enclosure in Vienna's Schoenbrunn zoo, in this photograph released by the zoo on February 3, 2010. The gibbon, born on September 23, 2009, has yet to be sexed and named. Any suggestions? Picture taken January 4, 2010.
A hand-reared baby White-handed Gibbon at the UK's Twycross Zoo, snuggles up to a stuffed animal before bed. In the wild, these endangered gibbons suffer from widespread deforestation as well as poaching and capture for the pet trade.
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