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.
The Minnesota Zoo’s three week old White-Cheeked Gibbon infant is doing well despite being rejected by her mom. The Zoo is celebrating her progress by releasing behind-the-scenes footage from a recent feeding session. Just like human babies, baby gibbons are completely dependent on mom in the early months of life so zoo staff are working around the clock to hand-rear the little girl. The new baby gibbon will not be on exhibit for several months to ensure proper feeding, rest, and care.
Three-week-old White-Cheeked Gibbon baby 'Walli' drinks bottled milk in the arms of surrogate mother Christina Schneider at the Schwerin Zoo in Germany yesterday, November 25th. The baby was not accepted by its mother and therefore has to be raised by hand. 'Walli' has to be fed every two hours. The hand raising will take about six months.
Photo credits: Jens Buettner / European Pressphoto
Gibbons are the trapeze artists of the primate world, spending their lives almost exclusively swinging in the tree tops. This tiny White-Cheeked Gibbon was born April 3rd at Chicago's Brookfield Zoo and still spends most of his time clinging tightly to mom, 21 year old Indah.
Born in late February at the Schwerin Zoo in Northern Germany, this baby gibbon was abandoned by its mother and is now being hand raised. While disinterested mothers are unfortunately not uncommon at zoos and in the wild, this little fellow seems to be responding well to its keepers' 24 hour care.
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