Hoolock Gibbons in trouble in Arunachal Pradesh

[Guest guest]

*10 families of Hoolock gibbons (each family comprising of about 4

individuals), once happy in their lush forest, are now helplessly stranded

amidst a handful of isolated trees in Arunachal Pradesh. Their habitat has

been bulldozed away to make way for human development leaving a cluster of

solitary trees standing. *

 

*Hoolock gibbons are completely arboreal and the forest canopy is their

home. They have little to do with the forest floor. They swing from tree to

tree searching for food and conducting their social lives surviving entirely

among the treetops. But these individuals have almost no trees left to swing

between. To get beyond one group of trees they have to climb down to the

ground and make an unnatural and perilous dash to the next paltry lot of

trees. This trek on the ground is fraught with danger for them as stray dogs

routinely attack them and local kids wait to catch them and take them away

in baskets. There are no escape routes left; all linking trees have been

felled leaving no continual wooded stretch that can lead them back safely to

a forested area. The gibbons are hopelessly marooned on this treeless

island. *

 

*WTI's Executive Director, Mr. Vivek Menon himself visited the site and said

that he had never seen anything like it. The stranded gibbons can be helped

only by a special rescue mission of translocating them to a suitable habitat

nearby. *

 

*Our vet Abhijit Bawal is already at the site, monitoring the gibbons and

ensuring their immediate safety and well being. Meanwhile the translocation

logistics are being planned and necessary permissions from the forest

department are being processed.*

 

*This operation will require emergency funding for hiring personnel for

capture, fabricating cages, food and medicine, vehicles for transportation

and the many other supplies essential to accomplish this task.*

 

*Hoolock gibbon (Bunopithecus hoolock) is an endangered species listed in

the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972). Habitat loss,

hunting and illegal trade threaten its survival. Habitat fragmentation has

forced many gibbons in Assam to live in isolation, at times without a mate.*

 

*As we launch into this mission, we are reaching out to supporters, to let

you know about this emergency so that you can help us save as many of these

gibbons as possible. I'll share more details with you on the rescue later in

a few days. *

 

*Please donate through

**http://www.wti.org.in/donate*<http://redirect.rapidsmtp.com/gtfmdcceasfmaljcbi\

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* and also forward this mail to people who you think would like to support

the project.

 

Regards,*

 

*Radhika Bhagat (**radhika* <radhika*)

Assistant Programme Officer

Wild Aid

Wildlife Trust of India*