Earthquake terrifies siamangs on Marak Island off Sumatra

March 30, 2005

The Kalaweit Gibbon Sanctuary (www.kalaweit.org) has two locations. It

cares for well over 100 gibbons at its site near Palangka Raya, Indonesian

Borneo, and some gibbons and over 120 siamangs (large black gibbons with

inflatable throat sacs that makes their calls carry vast distances, far

further than other gibbon species) at Marak Island off the west coast of

Sumatra. The December 2004 tsunami struck north of the ecologically

sensitive Mentawai Islands and Marak Island. IPPL just received news from

Aurelien Brule ( " Chanee " ), the French director of Kalaweit, regarding the

28 March earthquake.

News from Sumatra

In December 2004 Kalaweit Sumatra escaped the " killer tsunami. " Since the

start of 2005, the team has been working on Marak Island in an atmosphere

of fear, linked to the association's financial difficulties which forced

the lay-off of several staff members...

Monday 28 March, around 11.30 p.m. all the siamangs began making

frantic panic vocalizations. A few minutes later, the earth shook. The

team, awakened by the shaking and traumatized by the December tsunami fled

in the middle of the night to the island's hills to escape a wave that

never came. There was no damage caused to Kalaweit by this earthquake, the

main problem was the effect on the motivation and morale of a team which

has undergone another ordeal. The epicenter was near the island of Nias

(with over 450 tragic deaths reported so far). Nias is north of the

Mentawai archipelago and our island (Marak) where our 120 gibbons and

siamangs live.

These blows from fate are making things very difficult for us and

our team...

IPPL Note: Kalaweit urgently needs help from organizations, foundations,

and caring individuals.

Dr. Shirley McGreal, Chairwoman

International Primate Protection League

PO Box 766

Summerville, SC 29484, USA

Phone - 843-871-2280, Fax- 843-871-7988

E-mail - smcgreal, Web: www.ippl.org

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making

exciting discoveries. ~ AA Milne

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