(IN): Tragedy strikes union in the wild

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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090114/jsp/frontpage/story_10388111.jsp

 

Tragedy strikes union in the wild

- Siloni, India's first gibbon released in forest, dies young

OUR BUREAU

 

Jan. 13: Siloni found freedom and love in the wild but lost her life at the

dawn of her youth.

 

India's first gibbon released into the wild died on Monday in Assam's

Panbari reserve forest near Kaziranga in a setback to conservation efforts

aimed at pairing primates rendered mateless by forest destruction.

 

Forest officials and wildlife scientists had introduced the captive-reared

hoolock gibbon, named Siloni after the place from which she was rescued,

into the Panbari reserve forest, about 120km from Guwahati, in May last year

in an attempt to unite her with a single wild male living there.

 

During her nine months of freedom, Siloni had explored the forest and mated

with the male, but a wildlife attendant tasked with monitoring her daily

found her lying dead near the base of a tree on Monday morning.

 

She was a little over six years old, a few months past sexual maturity and

in the spring of her life. Hoolock gibbons have an average life expectancy

of 25 years.

 

" Meningitis could be the cause of the death, " Prasanta Boro, a veterinarian

at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at

Kaziranga, said after a post-mortem was conducted at the College of

Veterinary Sciences in Guwahati.

 

" This was our first attempt at experimental pairing of gibbons, " said N.V.K.

Ashraf, the director of rehabilitation at the Wildlife Trust of India, a

non-government agency that has been tracking the return of Siloni into the

wild.

 

The hoolock gibbon is an endangered species. Forest fragmentation has

isolated gibbon populations, reducing the numbers in each forest fragment.

Some fragments — like the one in Panbari where Siloni was introduced — have

solitary gibbons.

 

Siloni was a year old when she was bought from a temple priest in Golaghat

district in 2003. She was reared in captivity at the Centre for Wildlife

Rehabilitation and Conservation, a joint initiative of the Assam Forest

Department and the Wildlife Trust of India.

 

" Lakhiram visits the forest every morning to watch Siloni. Yesterday, he was

surprised when he heard the shrill cries of Siloni's mate. Finally, Lakhiram

found Siloni's carcass under a tree, " Boro said.

 

The Kaziranga director, S.N. Buragohain, who had rescued the gibbon from

Silonijan in Golaghat district, said Siloni was the first captive hoolock

gibbon to have been released in the wild as an experiment on May 25 last

year. " We need to understand what went wrong and take corrective steps — if

needed. "

 

Siloni was found chained in a temple at Silonijan in 2002. The Kaziranga

director had purchased the animal for Rs 500 and raised her in his official

quarters.

 

" She watched TV with me often and had also developed a habit of leafing

through books and magazines. She became my constant companion since I stayed

alone. She had shown signs of intelligence and had almost learned to feed

with a spoon, " Buragohain said.

 

After keeping her for over a year, Buragohain handed the animal to the

Kaziranga authorities. Siloni was then raised at the CWRC near Kaziranga,

where she was taught to live in the wild.

 

" She learnt the ways of the wild very quickly. She was kept in a big

enclosure which was camouflaged to resemble a forest. The enclosure was

shifted to the Panbari reserve forest in 2007 and was kept under constant

observation, " Boro of the CWRC said.

 

" After she was released in the wild, she found her mate very quickly and

they made Panbari their home, " he added.

 

" The union of Siloni with her new mate was a major achievement in the

strategy for management of single gibbons living without mates in Assam, "

the Kaziranga director said.

 

In the past, gibbon species have been successfully introduced into the wild

in Indonesia and Thailand, Ashraf said. Apart from India, hoolock gibbons

are found in Bangladesh, Myanmar and parts of Southeast Asia.

 

Conservationist Anwaruddin Choudhury, who was also involved in the

rehabilitation process, said the idea behind releasing the gibbon in the

wild was to learn more about the endangered species.

 

" She was probably the first of her kind in the world to have been released

in the wild after being raised in captivity for study purposes, " he said.

 

 

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