Volume 10 Issue 4
September to October 2011

***

Jonus is gone…, mother of new baby born in July 15th.

Pee Mai was taken back to her family in the forest.

(1)   (2)

Arya (1), Pee Mai with family (2)

Gibbon Updates

Babies and juveniles:

Emily: Is eating a lot of fruit now and this is supplemented with baby milk given by staff and volunteers throughout the day. She drinks water like an adult gibbon (by dipping her hand in water and licking her hand), so a water holder has been placed close to her. She plays a lot and climbs and swings. During the day, if the weather is good she is taken outside and put in a large cage next to her sister Maesa, so that they can interact with each other. She is still very young so she is brought indoors to sleep.

Tunda and Brittany: Are together in the quarantine area. They were recently weighed and at the time Brittany was loose she ran away, straight to Endoo. Endoo held her protectively until staff caught up with her.

Maesa: Is in the quarantine area most of the time and on sunny days Emily is put in a cage beside her, so that they can be put in the same cage in future when they are a little bit older. During periods of rain Maesa is taken to the recovery area under a proper shelter, she has a good appetite now and eats all of her food. She is also not as shy as she was and plays and climbs a lot.

Seagame, Beauty and Jane (Right Picture): Are all together in a very large cage at the rehabilitation site. They are all well but are still being monitored for stereotypical behaviour. Beauty and Jane are quite dominant and sometimes they take most of the food before Jane has a fair share. To try and solve this problem we put some food in a basket in a small adjoining cage, creating distance between the food baskets so that Beauty and Seagame cannot control all of the food. We have observed that this stereotypical behaviour happens mostly at feeding time, or when there are people around the cage or in the viewing area. So we hope that it will soon stop.

Epson and Sylvia: Are together at the rehabilitation site, and they play together a lot of the time. It is hoped that when they reach maturity they will become a family. They are still separated at feeding time so that Epson can’t take Sylvia’s food.

Flick: Is being given extra medicine to improve her fur and stop parasites, she is also being given extra food to build her strength and size. She has a good appetite now and plays a lot of the time. She is not as nervous as she was and is curious of volunteers and staff who come to look after her. A ball was put in her cage for her to play with, and she has been seen holding hands with Pook who also has Hepatitis B and is in a cage next to her.

O and Bobo: Groom each other through the wire of their cages since they were moved next to each other, and it is hoped that they could be friends and live together. Bobo has a poor appetite so he is given fruit most of the time (he will not eat vegetables. He eats very slowly and we have noticed that a squirrel is regularly stealing his food, so we split his food so that he has a small amount more often, which means there should not be food left in the basket for the squirrel to steal.“O” and Bobo are being closely monitored. “O” is adult now and we hope to pair him with a female gibbon in future.

Phi Phi and Crystal (Right Picture): Together at the quarantine site, PhiPhi’s fur is not in good condition and she was not putting on any weight. It was observed that Crystal was taking most of the food (PhiPhi has a good appetite but is a slow eater). So they are separated at feeding times and PhiPhi is given extra food. PhiPhi and Crystal have always been very close friends, they hold each other, or are touching most of the time so the volunteers have great difficulty trying to entice them into separate cages.

George, KhunSaul and Champ (Left picture): Is now sharing a very large cage with George and Khunsaul, but he is separated from them at feeding times because they sometimes fight. They seem to be getting along well and they may soon be together full time.

Thongkum and Lumduan: Are both well and very playful. Thongkum has recovered fully from the bronchial infection he had in July and now that the rainy season is over there is less risk of these illnesses occurring in the gibbons!

Songkran and Bobbie: Are doing well, they are together at the rehabilitation site. They are near maturity and maybe they will become a potential couple.

Unable to be released

Jep: was unwell, he was coughing and vomiting, gibbons sometimes catch infections during the rainy season. He recovered fully and is very well now. Even though he has distressing behaviour at feeding time it has been discussed whether it would be a good idea to try him at the rehabilitation site.

Tam (Rigth):  Is doing well. She and Bo spend a lot of time together grooming each other or sunbathing. Tam has a very mild temperament and when the volunteers come to put powder on her hand (to stop her skin becoming raw) she wants to be massaged and groomed for as long as possible.

Bo (Right): He always have a small appetite, he plays with his enrichment during the day and can be seen sometimes exchanging grooms with Tam.

Rumthai: Is still doing well. Often she rests, lying on the bamboo tube and looking around and singing. She has improved so much since she arrived at the Project. She also enjoys balancing and swinging.

Mai: Is not sneezing now and is in good health. He sings and seems happy, but because he is blind he sometimes seems a little nervous when there are any unusual sounds around his cage.

Bambam: Has changed cages with Phi Phi and Crystal and is in a very large cage now with lots of enrichment. Sometimes she lies on her back using her ball as a pillow and looks around. She often follows Joy and Endoo singing. We are waiting to find out if the cataract on her eye is because of disease. If not she could undergo the rehabilitation process again.

Endoo: Is improving now. She doesn’t seem to be as agitated as she was. Her temperament is calmer and the condition of her coat is much better. Brittany (a baby living in quarantine) was recently weighed and at the time she was loose she ran away, straight to Endoo. Endoo held her protectively until staff caught up with her.

Guinness: He is going well at the rehabilitation site. He likes singing and is very aware of the daily routine.

Gibby: Has not been vomiting as previously in the past months. She has been seen holding hands with Honey several times.

Honey: Is always doing well and always so playful even now that she is becoming mature. We have noticed that her vagina is not closed now.

Sumlee: Likes to watch people pass by him on their way to Bang Pae Waterfall, he is the oldest gibbon at the Project. Now that the viewing area is being rebuilt, he may be moved so that tourists can see him more closely and he can also watch them.

Breeding pairs

Nuan & Max: Are still together at the rehabilitation site. Because Nuan has rejected the two babies she has had at the Project, she will not be allowed to breed here. She has already produced and looked after babies when she was first released, so it is thought that she might make a new family in the forest if she is released on her own. This idea is still being discussed. Max is a strong gibbon with good genes, so we will try and pair him with another female.

Cop, Jorn & Sherpa: Are really great parents to Sherpa. Cop allows Sherpa to climb around and swing and at feeding time they share food. Jorn is a protective father and will warn staff or volunteers by showing his teeth if he thinks they are too close to his son.

Annie & Aye Aye: After being paired since 2004 they no longer need separating at feeding time, even if they have been seen grooming and they works well together, Annie seems not so interested in Aye Aye.

(1)    (2)    (3)

Tom-Ollie (1), Annie-Aye Aye (2), Sherpa (3)

Tom & Ollie: Tom have a behaviour which is closely monitoring. Her vagina swells and she often touch it. Maybe this have an effect on her non-sexual relation with Ollie. We are trying to resolve this problem.

Jonus, Santi & Arya: Had a good future ahead. Unfortunately their baby, Arya was found at the bottom of the cage one morning. Arya was alive and was taken back to the clinic at the quarantine site where she was given milk and electrolyte fluid and she recovered. Jonus was also taken back to the clinic, she seemed to be very ill. She was very thin and she was not producing any milk. She was taken to the vet and she was also given high energy food, and her blood was tested. After several days she was diagnosed as being anaemic, but by this time she was very weak and was not eating, she died on the 6th of November.

Mee & Jojo: Jojo have been more aggressive recently, so we keep a close monitoring on him and Mee.

Families in the forest

Kushta family (Right): PeeMai had been missing for two months turned up at the Rehabilitation site on top of Mee and Jojo’s cage. PeeMai was attacked by Mee and Jojo and she was quite badly injured. She was badly bitten on one arm and one leg and so she was brought back to the Project where she recovered. On 24th October PeeMai was taken back to her family in the forest. However, when PeeMai was released she was attacked by Arun. She tried to run away but Arun pursued her. Staff and volunteers (and Kushta) joined the chase and finally caught PeeMai. She and Kushta were put in the training cage safely out of reach of Arun and the family are now all being observed to see if Arun’s behaviour improves. PeeMai will be re-released when staff are certain that she will be safe. The amount of food being given to Kushta and PeeMai has been increased to 4 kilogrammes.

Lek Family (Left): The new baby of Lek and Bank (Peanut) has been seen and is a male.

Tony Family: Tony jumped on the back of Ong one of the GRP staff during a forest survey. And Hope and Yoge have been seen again on Tony’s territory but everything seems being well.

Payu Family: Have not been spotted recently but have been heard in the distance when staff and volunteers have been walking in the forest.

Kip Family: Have been seen near Bang Pae waterfall. Thong has been seen close to the Rehabilitation site, he comes and sings with the gibbons. He is adult now and is probably looking for a mate.

Hope and Yoge: We saw them spent time with Tony and Claire.

(1)   (2)  (3)

Joe, the father of Kip Family (1), Tony (2), Yoge (3)

Dusky Langurs:

Jackie Chan and Balloon: Have been sharing their cage full time and have become close friends, they groom each other and Balloon sits behind Jackie and puts her arms around him.

Other news

During the rainy season many parts of the Projects facilities were damaged by the storms. Endoo’s cage was repaired and a small new cage for Maesa was set up in the Quarantine site. The foundation of Gibby’s cage was dug out and strengthened and because we lost a cage due to the landslide at the Rehabilitation site last March, we have planted deep rooted trees and shrubs to try and stop the ground giving way. We have started an appeal for donations to build a new cage there.

Rescue

We rescued a Slow Loris. After few days of taking care of him, we released him into the forest. A injury turtle, who was cut by a cutting grass machine have also been rescued by GRP. Unfortunately, she was too much injured and was in really bad condition. She finally have been taken by the Forest Department. Two macaques have also been rescued who we hosted for few days. Then they one of them have been sent Phang Nga sanctuary, and the second was took by forest department.

Night Survey

On the 6th September 2011and the20th October 2011: Some animals we were found as picture below

Vegetarian group festival

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival is an annual event held during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is believed that the vegetarian festival and its accompanying sacred rituals bestow good fortune upon those who religiously observe this rite. During this time, local residents of Chinese ancestry strictly observe a 10-day vegetarian or vegan diet for the purposes of spiritual cleansing and merit-making. Sacred rituals are performed at various Chinese shrines and temples and aesthetic displays such as walking barefooted over hot coals and ascending ladders with bladed rungs are performed by entranced devotees known as "Ma Song".

For this occasion a traveler vegan group came to visit GRP (Left Picture Below).

Special Donation Box: An idea has been accepted to put a special donation box at Education to raise money for a specific topic. At the moment, we have choose to raise up fund for building a new cage.

Education Center (Right picture): Work is continuing at the Education Centre to improve the steps and rebuild the viewing area, the area outside of the shop has been extended and new steps up to the Education Centre have already been built. We are hoping to re-open the Viewing Area very soon.

General: Monkey (one of the cat living at GRP) and Tamu (one of the dog also living at GRP) have been sterilized.

Squirrel: Are in competition with gibbons… normally a gibbon eat all day long when he is living in the wild. But when he is living in captivity the gibbon have a daily life and will eat the portion immediately after receiving it. But some gibbons are slowly, they enjoy taking time, so squirrel, who are many, knows that our rehabilitation site is a good forage of food.

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Volume 10 Issue 3
July to August 2011

***

A new baby was born to Santi and Jonus on July 15th and was named Arya.

Pee Mai disappeared for 2 months and now she is back.

"Arya and Jonus"

Gibbon Updates

Babies and juveniles:

Emily (Left picture): She is still being bottle fed by staff and volunteer, she has already starts to eat solid food and seems enjoy it. She has been slowly introduced to her sister Maesa. So when it’s a sunny day, Emily will be moved in the quarantine site in the cage next to Maesa. Before, for the night time a staff or volunteer will take care of Emily, but now she sleeps alone in a small cage and seems getting well used to it.

Tunda and Brittany: they are waiting for the blood test. For the blood test the required weight is 2.5kg, probably Brittany is still under. We are organizing to weight them soon.

Maesa: Because of the heavy rain, we had sometimes to move Maesa back alone in an enclosure out of the quarantine site. She has been introduced to her sister Emily, we hope that in a near future it will be possible for them to share the same cage. She will be weight soon, to see if she can have her blood test.

Seagame, Beauty and Jane: Jane have been seen more playful with Seagame, but she still having a stereotype. Since Jane is more outgoing with the others, Beauty copy the Jane’s stereotype. We are closely monitoring it and will think about how to break these behaviors.

Epson and Sylvia: The decision have been made to let them together all the time. But even if they are very good friends, we could notice that Epson was often stealing the food of Sylvia, and that Sylvia was stressed at the feeding time. So we decided to separate them again for feeding time. Sylvia is now very happy when she received the food, and at the time we open the tunnel they play together.

Flick: Is ok with a good appetite, she is always playing a lot.

O and Bobo: We are closely monitoring both of them. Also to see if they could maybe share the cage, because they have been seen grooming each other through the wire. Bobo looks thinner, soon we will weight him and try to understand why he has a poor appetite. has been moved to a large cage next to “O” so that they have company. Bobo has a poor appetite.

George, KhunSaul and Champ: The door have been open! Champ is now allowed to play in the big cage with his friends. But we separated them for feeding and night time. For the moment, the behavior of all of them when they are together is getting well. Hopefully it will continue and like this we can let them always together. A special monitoring for them on this new situation.

Songkran and Bobbie: They both are ok and seems being more friend.

Thongkum and Lumduan: Thongkum was sick (bronchus infection) so he has to brought back to the quarantine site on the 12th July. His arm was shaved for giving him the treatment. Lumduan received some prevention medicine. Thongkum has well recovered so on the 18th July, he was brought back at the rehabilitation site. They were very happy to meet again!

Phi Phi (Right picture) and Crystal: We could notice that Phi Phi has a problem with her fur, she looks having less fur. She also looks a bit skiny, but she seems being ok, always playing with her friend Crystal. We will take her weight to be sure that she is not losing weight. We keep an close eye on her and give her some extra-food.

General about quarantine site: Some of the gibbons have been eating the net which cover the cages for shadow. But the problem has been fixed. Sooner many of the gibbons on quarantine will have a weight check.

Unable to be released

Tam (Left):  She is ok and seems have a good appetite on this last weeks. Often Bobo groom her, especially when in the morning is sun-bath moment.

Bo (Left): He always have a small appetite, he plays with his enrichment during the day and can be seen sometimes exchanging grooms with Tam.

Rumthai (Right): She is still having a good appetite. Every day she receives some vitamin C and she seems like it. Often is possible to see Jep and her grooming each other. She grooms him as she can, it means with her feet.

Mai: Have been sneezing for few days, and not eating so much. But now he is ok and continue to enjoy the daily enrichment.

Bambam: She is doing well, enjoying the singing time with the other gibbons in the quarantine site and for sure enjoying the enrichment time.

Endoo: Because of herself inflicting wounds, during which she bites and scratches her arms until they bleed. Endoo will not be released and need to be feed firstly, before the others. As a result, she is a permanent resident in quarantine. Endoo especially enjoys her enrichment games when food is hidden in leaves or coconut shells and she shows her cleverness by retrieving it quickly.

Guinness: He is going well at the rehabilitation site. He likes singing and is very aware of the daily routine.

Gibby: She restarts vomiting again for a period but no more now. We guess that it can be possible that when she sings and swings she moved to much just after eating, and maybe can provoke that she vomits sometimes. The ISV group had clean her cage and made some new bamboo enrichments.

Honey: She gets bored of the food, often the same food, so we are trying to change it more often. Also we are thinking about building a tunnel between Guinness and her, giving them the opportunity to be more closer friend. The ISV group also had clean her cage and made some new bamboo enrichments.

Sumlee: Being the oldest gibbon in the project, and due to his background he will never be released. We are trying to give him a good life. He likes the element of surprise and enjoys jumping at the corner of his cage as volunteers pass by. But if you keep eye contact with him he gives you the innocent look. Remaining with him for a few minutes he calms down and offers you his back for grooming. The International School of Phuket came to help for cleaning his cages.

Breeding pairs

Nuan & Max: We are thinking about their situation, and would like to find the best for them. For the moment, they are still caged next to each other. But unfortunately while Max is still being an active gibbon, Nuan seems often sad. We hope find a suitable solution for them soon.

Cop, Jorn & Sherpa: Cop and Jorn’s baby Sherpa are doing well, Sherpa climbs on his own but never far from Cop’s watchful eyes. He is still eating his mother milk but also eat some solid food, which he takes from his mother hands. Jorn is a playful and carful father. Cop and Jorn are a strong couple, grooming and enjoying daytime together, they will often have a nice singing with their neighbours. They also have been seen sneezing, but are now healthy and fine. We are still separating Cop with Sherpa and Jorn at feeding time, to let Cop and Sherpa have time to eat the food slowly and quietly. Their cage is the upper one and is surrounded by forest maybe due of this some snakes have been seen around their cage and also once in the cage, need keep an eye.

Annie & Aye Aye: After being paired since 2004 they no longer need separating at feeding time, even if they have been seen grooming and they works well together, Annie seems not so interested in Aye Aye.

Tom & Ollie: Tom have a behavior which is closely monitoring. Her vagina swells and she often touch it. Maybe this have an effect on her non-sexual relation with Ollie. The International School of Phuket came to help for cleaning their cages.

Jonus & Santi and Arya:  On the 15th July is with happiness that we discovered a new born! Jonus had a tiny baby holding her belly, which was named: Arya. Arya is black fur and female. Santi and Jonus are doing very well as parents. Jonus receive now extra-food and eggs every 3 days. We separate Santi and Jonus for feeding time, like this Jonus can eat quietly and how much she needs. Jonus has a big appetite. At several time, Santi and Jonus have been seen grooming, and singing at sun-bath time. Arya is growing every day and her fur is getting darker. Now she has her eyes frequently open, and she starts to look around. Jonus is taking well care of Arya.

Mee & Jojo: Jojo have been more aggressive recently, so we keep a close monitoring on him and Mee.

General about rehabilitation site: Due at the rainy season, we need to monitored more closely all the gibbons. Many heavy rain on this last weeks, and gibbons were often wet. A special attention need to be give for people working on the site, many bamboos fell, and it can also be very slippery, so it’s recommend for everybody to stop working when it’s heavy rain, just feed the gibbon, make health check and wait the end of the rain… The ISV group helped us for cleaning the area which was a total mess after few days on non-stop rain. By the good work of some of our staff and of the young of the ISV group we have now the pleasure to prepare the gibbon food on a larger and new table!

Families in the forest

These months we planned many observation days and trail maintenance with the ISV group, but unfortunately because of the bad weather we couldn’t do as much as planned.

Changed the family’s name. It has been decided to change the family’s name because some of the gibbon members went missing and disappeared.

Kip Family: During observations we saw a little gibbon a while with the group but we can not tell who is that gibbon because it was very small, quick and stayed far. Thong has been seen alone very close to rehab site, approximately 150 meters. Often can listen him singing from the rehab site.

Lek Family: Since the last time we saw this group (the whole group: 3 members, Bank, Lek and Peanut) and that we could have the chance to go up for doing observation again with ISV group; we didn’t see this group at all, we are still don’t know the gender of the baby (Paenut) yet.

Payu Family: During the month of August we went up for observation with ISV group but we didn’t see them, we only heard them singing another day when we went for feeding Kushta and Tony families. Payu Family have been released in 2007, they adopt the perfect wild behavior for gibbons which means staying up high in the canopy, making observation for us more difficult.

(1, Yoge)        (2, Tony)

Tony Family: The mother of this family, Jita is still missing so we have no record since the 29th March 2011. In the moment Tony (father) and Claire (infant, female) are living together in the area and we have recorded that Yoge and Hope came to the area and spent time with this family. But Tony is still very submissive to Yoge. They have been seen all together at the food basket but they seems being ok together.

(1)   (2)

Kushta and Dead infant (1), Kushta family (2)

Kushta family: The family is doing well and is leaving food which is a good sign, so we will decrease from 5kg to 4kg. But they are still seen on the floor. Arun is often seen with the family and sometimes have been seen eating with them. On the 6th July 2011, during going up to do observation with ISV group we saw Kushta holding a baby but the baby was dead. We suspect that the baby's father is Muki, because once when they were still at rehabilitation site we saw they had sex together. Due to Muki’s young age, the baby was probably not well formed and not enough strong, so we suspect an abortion. Pee Mai disappeared on the 16th July 2011, for 2 months we had no record of her, but we had the hope that maybe she was with another group. On the 16th September, we had the pleasure to see Pee Mai again at the rehabilitation site. Unfortunatly, an accident happened and she gets bitten by Mee and Jojo while she was hanging on their cage. She had bad injuries on one arm, one leg and on fingers. We brought her to the clinic where she received emergency care. Now she is in our clinic and we closely monitored her. She seems recovering well, even if she is still a bit traumatised. When her injuries will gets better, she will probably bring back into the forest in the training cage. We have good hope that soon she will join with her family in the forest again.

Hope and Yoge: We saw them spending time with Tony and Claire (see detail as Tony family) But Tony is still scared of Yoge. But they seems doing well forth together.

 General about forest: Some tourists came at the Education Center, complaining about some gibbons attacks in the forest. It’s why we advise visitors against going by themselves to the forest. Gibbons are on their territory and if they feel in danger or for any other wild behavior, as protecting their families, they can attack people!

Dusky Langurs

Jackie Chan and Balloon: After a gradual introduction, step by step, leaving next to each other for awhile, giving them the opportunity to touch themselves through the wire of the tunnel,  the decision have been made about letting them together for few hours per day, and it works! At first, they were still separated for feeding and night time, but seeing that they are well together and seems really like each other; we finally tried to let them all time together and they seems very happy. They don’t fight, and Balloon very often will take care of Jackie Chan, grooming him… but we are still closely monitoring them.

Other news

School camp: On the 2nd of Aug 2011, 102 students from Paklock School came to Bang Pae waterfall (Khao Phra Theaw Non-hunting area) we gave English teaching and educated them about conservation.

International Student Volunteer (ISV): During the summer season, groups from the ISV come to the GRP and help us. They work different tasks which help us to improve the rehabilitation site, quarantine, trail in the forest and many other things.
From the beginning of the season they did:

• Gibbon observation.
• Planted more grass and bamboo all around landslide area.
• Teaching English in school and organized activities for student camp.
• Trail maintenance (Cut and repairing).
• Cage’s enrichment and made gibbon’s toys
• Site maintenance and clean up of Rehabilitation site, Quarantine site, Education Center, along Bang Pae Waterfall and social house.
• Built a new table’s kitchen at Rehabilitation site and water drill system.
• Mangrove forest plantation
• “Rescue” training on the Andaman Sea.

Journalist interview: A journalist named Chris Flechtner from Germany came to the Education Center and did an interview about the project. When she will published the article she will send it to us.

Donation Box (Left): In many different place in Phuket we have some donation box. We sincerely thank all of the company who collaborate with us and agree to have one of our donation box in their office. During the past weeks, staff and volunteer went to collect them, and one more time we can be sincerely thankful to all the people who helps us by their generosity and support.

Education Center (Right): Thanks to a big donation for the Education Center, some construction plans are running. One of the priority will be to enlarge the way along the shop for safety and comfort. For further the plans are in progress of settlement. Due to the rainy season, we also have to be more careful in the shop, some scorpions and snake was found. A good news is also that now there is a card machine at our shop and people can also pay by card!

Cat: A baby cat was found, we took care of her but she was gave to another family who will look after her. Tamu and Lulu were enjoying playing with the baby, they were so carful and tender…

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Volume 10 Issue 2
March to June 2011

At the first,
***
We apologize to everyone who kept in touch with our Newsletter and for our delay in giving news about the gibbons for all of you.
***
The rainy season starts, the health check of the gibbons must be done more carefully because gibbons can get easier ill (like pneumonia) because of the heavy rain.

NEWS; 2 New Borns and A Released family back to the wild.

(1) (2)

Emily (1), Kushta family (2)

Gibbon Updates

Babies and juveniles:

A new baby was born to Nuan and Max on March 11th and was named "Emily".

Emily: As with her previous daughter Maesa, Nuan was not really taking care of Emily. Sadly she had to be separated from her parents after only 3 weeks. She had a lot of bruises and the tip of one finger was damaged. Being bottle fed by staff and volunteer, she has already starts to eat solid food. Every day she is getting stronger and more playful and spend hours in a small cage hanging and moving all the time.

Brittany: She was brought to GRP in February after being confiscated from a tour company. She is eating well now and she is in a cage with Tunda, they are doing well together.

Tunda and Maesa: they were put in new adjoining cages and allowed together for short periods, unfortunately Maesa is shy and Tunda very playful. Maesa became nervous so they are now in separate cages. Brittany is currently together with Tunda, they get on very well. Three of them still waiting for the blood test (required weight for blood test is: 2.5kg), so at the moment they still at the quarantine site.

Maesa: she has been moved for a while in an enclosure alone. Even if we continue to give her milk every day she starts eating the same amount of food as an adult gibbon. But now she is back next to Tunda and Brittany. Also for few hours per day her small sister Emily is caged close to her.

Seagame, Beauty and Jane: They are together at the rehabilitation site. Beauty is the more outgoing. They are in a big enclosure with many different enrichment. They are really playful together and have a lot of fun together swinging all the time.

Epson and Sylvia: Epson has been moved next to Sylvia, who he knows from his time in quarantine. After been allowed for some hours per day together, and then separated at feeding time, we decided to let them together all the time and they are good friends. During the month of June Epson have been sick, he got an respiratory infection. He had been brought to the clinic and have been injected with antibiotics. Also to recover he followed a special diet. Now he is back to the rehabilitation site and he is very healthy.

Sylvia: Doing well she is at the rehabilitation site where she can be seen from the viewing area. After spent time awhile with Bobbie and Songkran but didn't work on. Now she is next to a new friend Epson. They are together and some of the time they are hug and play with each other.

Flick: had a skin infection and she was moved to the recovery site to be treated. She is now fit and healthy and has been moved back to her cage next to Pook.

O and Bobo: Bobo has been moved to a large cage next to “O” so that they have company. Bobo has a poor appetite so he is fed mainly fruit which he likes. “O” suffered malnutrition as a young gibbon and did not develop properly physically or mentally. They have been seen sharing time through the wire. Bobo and “O” have uncertain futures, hopefully they will one day be released, or they will be well cared for at the GRP.

George, Khun Saul and Champ: George and Khun Saul still together in the same enclosure, they play a lot, swinging, enjoying the enrichment. Champ is caged next to them, previous tentative shown that Khun Saul was a bit aggressive to Champ. Maybe in a close future we will try again to let Champ going with Khun Saul and George, but they will have to be monitored closely.

Songkran and Bobbie: Bobbie is now in a large cage with Songkran. Their behaviour is being monitored and we are hoping for a successful pairing. Songkran is a somewhat dominant at the feeding time but they are good friends and enjoy spending time together.

Thongkum and Lumduan: they are always really playful and close mates. Due at a landslide in April they have been moved caged from the lower viewing area to the beginning of upper site.

Phi Phi and Crystal: They had their blood test and are both disease free. They are very close and spend most of the day hanging onto their swing holding onto one another. As they are almost inseparable (they are always hugging and collectively look like one gibbon with 4 arms and legs) the easiest way to tell them apart is that Phi Phi sucks her Index finger and Crystal sucks her thumb. Even if they are both disease free, they still living together in a big enclosure at quarantine. They will moved to the rehabilitation site when a suitable cage will be free.

Unable to be released

Tam:  Always the food for Tam must be cut in slice in a way she can take it with the 2 finger. She often wants to be groomed by Bo or staff/volunteers. Bo and Tam groom each other through the wire.

Rumthai: She is still having a good appetite. Every day she receives some vitamin C and she seems like it.

Mai: The operation for Mai still pending. He enjoys his enrichment activities by smelling the food or fruit hidden in leaf parcels or coconut shells.

Bambam: Due the lost of her sight she still at the quarantine site. The decision to operate her eyes still pending as Mai. She is going well and is mentally recover to be able to go back at the rehabilitation site when her physical handicap will be recovered.

Endoo: Because of herself inflicting wounds, during which she bites and scratches her arms until they bleed. Endoo will not be released and need to be feed firstly, before the others. As a result, she is a permanent resident in quarantine. Endoo especially enjoys her enrichment games when food is hidden in leaves or coconut shells and she shows her cleverness by retrieving it quickly.

Guinness: He is going well at the rehabilitation site. He likes singing and is very aware of the daily routine.

Gibby: She is now healthy and had no more troubles about vomiting. She is seen sometimes holding the hand of her cagemate Honey.

Honey: Even if the rainy season starts Honey still active. She often looks at the visitors from below with the head up-side down.

Bo: He always have a small appetite, he plays with his enrichment during the day and can be seen sometimes exchanging grooms with Tam.

Sumlee: Being the oldest gibbon in the project, and due to his background he will never be released. We are trying to give him a good life. He likes the element of surprise and enjoys jumping at the corner of his cage as volunteers pass by. But if you keep eye contact with him he gives you the innocent look. Remaining with him for a few minutes he calms down and offers you his back for grooming.

Breeding pairs

Nuan & Max: After Maesa, they had another baby: Emily. She was born on March 11th but Nuan has not shown very much ability to look after her, so she is now at GRP being fed and looked after 24 hours a day by staff and volunteers. Also we had to separated Nuan and Max, but they still caged next to each other.

Cop, Jorn & Sherpa: Cop and Jorn’s baby Sherpa is now nine months old and climb on his own but never far from Cop’s watchful eyes. He also is eating some solid food. They are all doing well.

Annie & Aye Aye: After being paired since 2004 they no longer need separating at feeding time, even if they have been seen grooming and they works well together, Annie seems not so interested in Aye Aye.

Tom & Ollie: Always scaring the new volunteers they are going well. Still waiting for a baby, even if we have suspicion that Ollie is sterile.

Jonus & Santi: We have good hope about this potentially pairs. Only separated at feeding time, they seems to be well together. Often we can see them grooming each other, they are close.

Mee & Jojo: Are definitely a strong couple even if sometimes Jojo is dominant at the feeding time. But they never really fight for food, Mee just go one her own basket. They are often sharing tender moment by grooming each other. Since they have both reached sexual maturity in the last year our daily health checks are hoping to show signs of pregnancy to increase their chances of being the one of the next family to be returned to the wild.

Families in the forest

Released Family

Kushta family: The Kushta family (Kushta, Peemai, Nat and Muki) were released in April/May 2011. First, Kushta and Peemai were released on April 27th. The reason for this is that Arun had been at the training cage while the Kushta family were inside, and it was thought that Arun was looking for a mate. When Kushta and Peemai were released Arun did show interest in Kushta and was also very protective towards Peemai so it is very likely that Arun will become part of this family, he may pair with Kushta and make her family complete. Nat and Muki were released on May 2nd and all of the gibbons have taken to each other as well as their new environment. They must be observed constantly for at least two weeks after release so staff and volunteers have been clearing trails so that the family can be tracked more easily (gibbons can travel through the trees at up to 25 meters). A camp site has also been prepared as a base for the observations. Now we still give food to them every day (5kg), gradually we will decrease and in soon let them trying to find food only by themselves. Some of them still being seen on the floor.

Kushta (Above left), Pee mai (Above middle), Muki (Above right), Arun (Below left) and Nat (Below right)

Story of the Kushta family and the release by a long-term volunteer(Mikael):
Before arriving at the GRP at the age of 6 years old, Kushta had been a pet and used for photographs in a restaurant. In 1997 she was paired with Bozo and they had their first baby, Yindee in 2000. A second baby was also born but didn't survive. Then in 2004 Nat was born. This family was due to be released when Nat was a little older, but sadly, in May 2005 Yindee got sick and died. In March 2006 Kushta was released with her mate Bozo and infant son Nat, but after Bozo went missing, Kushta and Nat, were brought back to our rehabilitation site. Kushta was then paired with new boyfriend Mai and Pee Mai was born on the 1st January 2009. Sadly in May 2009 we observed that Mai was losing his sight and he was moved back to Quarantine. Kushta and Pee Mai remain at rehabilitation in a cage and later Nat joined them with the friend named Muki that he got during the time away from Kushta.

Muki was brought to the project in January 2006 by a tourist who had brought him off a photographer on Ko Samui for 1000 USD. While this person wanted to help Muki, paying so much money sadly only reinforces the trade. At the end of 2007 Muki was tested for disease and is clean. He was moved to rehab on 30th May 2008 and put together with Cop and O on 17th June 2008. From July 2009 sharing a cage next to Kushta and Pee Mai with Nat, and after some month we started to open up the door the separated them from Kushta and Pee Mai. In January 30th 2011 the four Gibbons, Kuhsta, Pee Mai, Nat and Muki were moved from the rehabilitation site up to the training cage in Khao Phra Thaew forest. The Gibbons were staying in this cage to get use to the surrounding forests and give us the possibility to see how they reacted to some of the Gibbons living there and specially some who were possible new mates for Kushta. During that time GRP staff was feeding them every day in metal baskets that could be pulled up and down in the cage. And gave daily check up so everything was OK and studied when free Gibbons came to the cage. The Kushta family stayed there until there were enough volunteers so we could make observations and that we were able to follow their movements in the forest after release.

On 26th of April 3 member of staff Yan, Roch, Owart and myself (Mikael, volunteer) went up to prepare and build the camp where we sleep when we stay and monitor the Gibbons for their first couple of weeks in freedom. We cleared the camp area to minimize the risk of stepping on snakes and all spiky vegetation and we put up rain cower for our hammocks where we would sleep at night. A beautiful green Pope's pit-viper takes of when we get to close to him (it is a male, you can tell by the colors’) But they have quite strong venom so it is better he find a new spot to stay. We even made a shower out of bamboo in the little creak next to the camp. And of cause prepared a fireplace. After all is done can we relax take a shower and make some food before going to sleep in our hammocks. In 27th April 2011 all of staff and volunteers that could and wanted went up to the training cage for the release of Kushta and Pee Mai. They bring breakfast for us that spent the night in the forest, we take something to eat.

Then it is time to open the cage for Kushta and Pee Mai. We don't want to release all 4 at the same time if it should be any problems. Follow 4 Gibbons going in different directions would be almost impossible. Richard gets the honour of opening the cage and Kushta comes out to freedom. You really feel blessed to have a chance to be part of this moment. This is stuff people see on Animal planet, but here we are being a part of it. This is what staff and all volunteers have been working for so long and hard to make possible. It is truly a great moment. After a short time Kushta takes up in the canopy and it don't take long before we see her mate with Arun who has been hanging around the training cage for some time now. We follow them for a while to make sure everything is OK then we set Pee Mai free as well. Pee Mai is a bit cautious and stays near or on the cage. Where she gets some company of Nat and Muki that still is in the cage. When we are sure that all is running smoothly all but the 4 of us who built the camp goes back to take care of rest of the project. The 4 of us still have 2 days of monitoring this Gibbon family. So it is 1 more night in hammock. Before a new group comes to take over the Guarding them. And in the 2nd May 2011 it is time again everything is OK no other Gibbons have come to the release place and started any fighting and no other problems, so it is time for Nat and Muki to be released and join the others as free Gibbons in the forest.

After feeding all the Gibbons in Rehabilitation site, me and Nadia starts our walk up to the training cage. As we start our walk Dr Tum comes with food for Gibbons and the group monitoring them, quite a load walking uphill all the way. This time I have the privilege to be the one who opens the cage. Even it is just pulling a rope, it really feels great to do it. Be the one who open the cage and sets them free. Muki comes out directly but Nat who use to be a bit of a tough bully is scared to go out. Human and Gibbon bully’s are quite the same. Yet another proof who similar this creatures are to us. I try to make a little trail of food out from the cage, but Nat runs out and takes it and heads back in to the cage. After about 30 minutes Nat finely comes out and join the rest of the family. When I look up after Kushta and Arun heading up the top of one of this great big trees (the sort that makes me think of the movie Avatar) I get this almost surreal feeling inside and think to myself “we are so blessed to be part of this”.

Arun Family: NEW BORN! During an observation with the ISV group (on the 30th June 2011), we could have the pleasure to see a new baby named Peanut. We don’t know how old is it, approximately one month, and also we still not sure about the gender. Reddy still being disappeared, we have no record since 19th September 2010. Since the released of Kushta family Arun moved to the Kushta Family. Before that he was already around the training cage. Kushta and Arun have been seen having sexual relation. Yoge also came to the training cage sometime.

Jita Family: We decreased food from 1kg to 0.5kg on the 28th April but still give every two day. The mother of this family, Jita is missing and no record since the 29th March 2011. During this time we saw that Tony (the father of the family) has a cut on his right arm but he seems going ok and recover it now. In the moment Tony and Claire (infant, female) living together in the area and we have record that Yoge and Hope came to the area and spent time with this family. Hope came to eat food at the feeding basket and Tony seems scared of her in the first time but after that they all get to know each other more.  

Payu Family: We spent time to follow as observation with ISV group and every time we found this group we still saw all of them together but just for a few hours because they always stay up high to the canopy and moved so fast. The infant, Newbe (Mek) spend more time playing alone and foraging but sometime Namthip came and play with him.   

Hope Family: Toffee has been seen alone at the Bang Pae Waterfall. Thong (sup adult male) sometime came to training cage where we were released Kushta family but every time he got chased by Arun back to his territory. Omyim (infant, male) now look bigger and healthy spend time out of kip and seen playing a lot with Toffee, his older sister.

Hope and Yoge: We saw them spent time with Tony and Claire (see detail as Jita family) and also found both of them came to visit the Kushta family sometime but they didn’t fight at all. Seems like this family still moved around the forest to fine the good area to live.

Night Survey

At different times, staff and volunteers went to Khao Pra Teaw Non-Hunting Area to check for different species of animals and insects. The following species were found:

Mammals: Moonrat (Echinosorex gymnura)

Amphibians: Black-spined Toad (Bufo melanostictus), Brown bullfrog, Malayan giant Frog (Limnonectes blythii),  White-lipped frog (Rana raniceps), Common tree frog (Polypedates leucomystax), Slender-legged horned frog (Xenophrys longipes), Smith’s litter frog (Leptobrachium smithi), Painted bullfrog (Kaloula pulchra), Tasan frog (Ingerana tasanae)

(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)

Marked sping lizard (Acanthosaura cf. crucigera) (1), Lanternfly (Pyros karenia) (2), Temple pit-viper (Trimeresurus wagleri) (3), Forest cockroach (4), Green Crested Lizard (Bronchocela cristatella) (5), Grasshopper (6)

Reptiles: Forest Crested Lizard (Calotes emma emma), Blanford’s glinding lizard (Draco blanfordil), Marked sping lizard (Acanthosaura cf. crucigera), Harlequin monitor (Varanus dumerilii), Horned tree lizard, Common four-clawed gecko, Phuket round-eyed gecko (Cnemaspis phuketensis), Smooth-backed parachute (Ptychozoon lionotum), Green Crested Lizard (Bronchocela cristatella)

Snakes: Brown kukri snake, Elegant bronzeback (Dendrelaphis formosus), Malayan bridle snake (Dryocalamus subannulatus), Dog-toothed cat snake (Cerberus rynchops), Jungle whip snake (Ahaetulla prasina), Temple pit-viper (Trimeresurus wagleri)

Insects: Cricket, Cicades, Fireflies, Grasshopper, Mantis, Jungle Nymph walking stick, Violin Beetle, Lanternfly (Pyros karenia), Trilobite beetle, House centipede,

Spiders: Tarantula

Wild Crab: Crab Phricotelphusa limuli, Crab Demanietta renongensis

Other: Scorpion, Snail, Red dragon millipede, Forest Cockroach

Dusky Langurs

Jackie Chan and Balloon are closely monitored, since they have been next to each other we could observe that the introduction is going well. They have been seen grooming each other through the corridor. In the near future, we will try to open it up so they can play together and share their cages.

Balloon (Left): Balloon (♀)  is a Dusky leaf Monkey (specie native to Southern Thailand) when she arrived at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project on the 28th of March 2008 she was just four months old. Her fur was still orange on some part (babies have orange fur which changes to grey later). She was brought by someone who saw her one night at the Heroines festival, at the Monument in Thalang District, surrounded by noise and bright lights. She was being used by a man selling balloons to attract people to buy the balloons. The men who buy Balloon thought that she looked very sad so he bought her from the balloon seller for 2000Bht.
At first he looked after her, but after two weeks he brought her to the Project so that she could have a better life. For several months the staff stayed with her at night and didn’t leave her alone at all because she was sensitive to the weather and food and would scream very loudly.
Balloon was born in the forest in the Satun Province of Thailand. The poacher who captured her shot her mother and while being captured Balloon lost the ring finger of her right hand. In the wild Langurs diet consists mainly of leaves, insects and flowers in preference to fruit. Balloon’s blood has been tested and is clear of any infections. She is in a large cage now next to another Dusky Langur named Jackie Chan (♂), and it is hoped that they can be together in future and if we have more Langurs (Langurs live in larger groups than gibbons) it is possible that they could be released into Khao Phra Thaew forest where Dusky Langurs lived in the past.

Jackie Chan (Right): Jackie Chan (♂) is a Dusky leaf Monkey (species native to Southern Thailand) born in the wild in 1995. He arrived at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project on the 30th of November 2009. He was kept as a pet in Thalang on Phuket Island. The owner wanted to move house so he decided to give Jackie Chan to GRP.
His canine teeth have been filed down. His blood tests showed him to be clean and disease free. He was caged close to Balloon (♀) but they had no corridor and both had small cages. Therefore a donation box was placed at the Education Center in order to raise money to build them new cages and it was a great success! Now they live next to each other and after a slow introduction; first looking at each other, then sitting next to one another, they are now seen grooming each other. We will open up the corridor in the close future.
If we grow to have a group of langurs, at least six, we will also try to release them into the Khao Phra Thaew Non-Hunting Area and repopulate the forest where Dusky Langurs lived in the past.

Rescue

Long tail Macaque: A macaque monkey that had been causing nuisance in a village in Phang Nga has been captured and taken to a sanctuary in the same area. GRP staff specialist Yan tranquilized the macaque using a blowpipe and drugged dart. It was caught after trapping itself in a toilet and attacking its own reflection in the mirror.  It stayed at the project for a week  then have been sent  to Phang Nga Breeding Sanctuary.  
Another macaque monkey have been hosted in the quarantine before to be transferred in a better place for him in Ranong Project (WARED).

Other news

During the heavy rain late in March the ground around the tour viewing area became waterlogged causing a landslide and one of the large trees fell (luckily onto open land away from the gibbons). The area is now too dangerous to use and is closed while staff, volunteers and park rangers carry out urgent repairs and make sure the gibbons are safe. Some plans are running to build up a new viewing area as soon as possible.

Fallen tree at Education Centre
The heavy rain during the last week of March caused a great deal of damage throughout Thailand. The Gibbon Rehabilitation Project did not escape this. The main rehabilitation site at Bang Pae Waterfall is built on the side of a hill at the edge of Khao Phra Theaw forest and the constant rain caused one of the large trees at the Education Centre to fall. Fortunately no humans or gibbons were hurt, the tree fell towards an open piece of land. GRP staff is very worried about this event because the rainy season has not really started yet and if there are landslides or if trees fall in the future the danger to people and gibbons would be very great. Staff and volunteers are now making plans to make the area safe. Walls need to be built to support the foundations of the viewing area and pathways, and some other trees may have to be removed to lessen the risk.

Social house
At the beginning of April we changed a new roof of Social house and built more floor to make it wide a few week after. Also some cleanings have been done for the floor by ISV group.

British international school
Some students from the British international school came at the project on the 3rd April to do some works as: repairing and fixing the stairs and path up to the Education Center.

Allianz Insurance Company
On the 17th June, GRP came to talk with Allianz Insurance Company from Malaysia, who made a donation to GRP as part of their annual incentives trip. Richard, a GRP volunteer, gave a 40 minute talk about why gibbons are endangered and how our project releases them back into the wild. It was a successful day and many of the insurance staff went home with adopted gibbons, hats and shirts from our stall for their friends and family.

A warm THANKS for their generosity and support!

Asia for Animal Conference 2011
The guide line of the conference is “Bringing Animal Cruelty to an End”. The conference was held on the 10th – 14th June 2011 in Chengdu, China. Thanapat Payakkaporn (from WARF) and Owart Maprang (from GRP) did oral presentation about “Complete Conservation Procedure of Wild Animal in Thailand”. For this time we had chance to see the interesting other conservation’s project and many people was interested about the gibbon rehabilitation project as well.

International Student Volunteer (ISV)
During the summer season, groups from the ISV come to the GRP and help us. They work different tasks which help us to improve the rehabilitation site, quarantine, trail in the forest and many other things.
From the beginning of the season they did:

• Gibbon observation.
• Planted grass and bamboo all around landslide area.
• Cleaned inside and outside of cages.
• Teaching English in school.
• Trail maintenance (Cut and repairing).
• Cage’s enrichment and made gibbon’s toys
• Site maintenance and clean up of  Rehabilitation site, Quarantine site, Education Center and Office.

THANK YOU

Volume 10 Issue 1
January and February 2011

Gibbon Updates

Baby and Juvenile Group in Quarantine and Rehabilitation site : Since the last newsletter there have been many changes in the quarantine site, Maesa and Tunda have been moved to new cages and there have been two new arrivals Pook and Brittany, and Bambam has been moved from the rehabilitaion site. Epson, Seagame, Beauty and Jane have all be moved to the rehabilitation site.

There is also one new baby Sherpa born in October 2010 he is with his parents Cop and Jorn.

Epson, Seagame, Beauty and Jane : Epson, Seagame, Beauty and Jane were all blood tested in October 2010 and found to be disease free. They are all now at the rehabilitation site. Seagame, Beauty and Jane are all together, as they were at the quarantine site. Epson is in a cage adjoining ‘O’.

Phi Phi and Crystal : Crystal was bought from a photographer on Patong Beach and kept as a pet.
Phi Phi was brought to the project in May 2009 she was only around 6 months old on arrival. She was bought from a photographer on the Phi Phi islands as a present.
They share a large cage in quarantine site they are energetic and agile and hold on to each other almost all of the time.

Pook : Arrived at the project in October 2010 and unfortunately tested positive for Hepatitis B. He is otherwise fit and well and has an adjoining cage with Flick in quarantine site. Before coming to the GRP Pook was kept at a temple. He tried to bite visitors, and when the monks tried to control him he bit them instead.

Brittany : Late in February a young female gibbon was confiscated from a tour office and handed to the forest department, who then brought her to the GRP. She is small and quite thin, her age is estimated to be about one and a half years. She is being assessed at this early stage.

Maesa (Left picture below) and Tunda : Both are doing very well, they were both moved to adjoining cages in the quarantine site at the beginning of February. Maesa is eating solid food as well as being fed baby milk. Maesa and Tunda are now allowed together for short periods under observation. There are no signs of aggression and it is hoped they will become playmates very soon. 

Flick (Right picture) : Flick injured two of her fingers in February, Dr Tum took her into the animal clinic to repair them and she has recovered. Otherwise she is very well and is next to Pook at the quarantine site.

George, Khunsaul and Champ : George and Khunsaul are together in a cage adjoining Champ at the rehabilitation site. They are all very playful and reach out to staff and volunteers as they walk along the narrow path beside their cage and snatch hats, pens, clipboards etc.

Songkran, Bobbie and Sylvia : The previous month’s newsletter reported that Songkran, Bobbie and Sylvia had been put together. All 3 gibbons seemed to be getting on very well. However, despite no signs of aggression from Songkran, Bobbie still seemed extremely cautious of him during feeding times. As a result, staff were worried that Bobbie wasn’t getting enough food, so the decision was taken to continue to separate Songkran from Bobbie and Sylvia for feeding. Despite this, we were still confident that all 3 would eventually be able to live together, with Bobbie perhaps needing a little more time to see that Songkran is quite a gentle soul. However, Songkran was beginning to show an increased sexual interest in Sylvia in particular, attempting to copulate with her frequently throughout the day. He was chasing her around the cage for extended periods of time, and although she was at times responsive to him, she was sometimes upset by him. Now Sylvia has been moved to a seperate cage and Bobbie and Songkran are together.

O : O arrived at the GRP with his friend Mee. They were being kept in a small cage in a Bangkok restaurant. The owner placed them in the front entrance of the restaurant, hoping they would attract people to come in and eat. When they were two years old, they were confiscated by the Forest Department because it is illegal to keep gibbons as pets in Thailand. They then lived at the Wild Animal Rescue Foundation in Bangkok, until they were brought to us in September 2002.

Thongkum and Lumduan : They were born in the wild and their mothers were shot so that the poacher could capture her baby to sell. It is also possible that her father or other members of her family were killed while protecting their family members. For every captive gibbon seen, usually 10 have died, as many babies don’t survive the fall from the 30 meter high canopy. They were tied to a tree at restaurant on the beach until the authorities confiscated them. Now they live in rehabilitation site infront of viewing area.

Bobo : Bobo was brought to the GRP in January 2005 when he was 4 years old. He was being kept as a pet in Phuket town, but as he grew bigger he became more aggressive and his owners could no longer take care of him. Bobo was paired with Endoo and they got on very well, but  unfortunately her mental problems resulted in them having to be separated and he is now housed by himself. We are awaiting a suitable female gibbon for Bobo so he can be released back into the forest in the future.

Unable to be released

Rumthai : Rumthai seems to have a good appetite now and is doing well. She is given extra vitamins each day and although she was treated and abused so badly, resulting in spine and limb deformities before coming to the GRP she plays on her swing and often sings happily.

Mai (Right picture): In 2007 Mai was paired with Kushta. All was well and a baby Pee Mai was born in January 2009. Again, Mai was very close to release when tragedy struck. In May 2009 Mai mysteriously lost his sight and had to be brought to our Quarantine site for observations. Now Dr Tum has been in contact with a specialist in Bangkok that will see if it is possible to get his sight back.

Bambam (Left picture) : Born in 2003 and taken from her mother in the wild as a tiny baby, Bambam came to us in 2004. She was 9 months old and was found abandoned in a cardboard box by the side of the road. In October 2010 Bambam started to lose her sight on the right eay and had to be brought to Quarantine site for observations. And will see the same specialist in Bangkok as May. We have every hope of her being normal and returned to the wild in the future.

Endoo : Endoo had a self-harming condition, which involved her biting and scratching herself, but she has since made excellent progress. Unfortunately though, due to this mentally prohibitive condition, we cannot pair her with another gibbon and it is therefore unlikely that she will ever be released.

Jep (Left picture) : He is very small for his age, even though he is at the age of sexual maturity. We will be closely monitoring him for a while and hope for him to have a cage mate in the near future.

Joy (Right picture) : Joy began to lose patches of fur on her left arm. We began to treat it by administering medicine to her, initially for 7 days, to help her fight the condition. However, there has still not been any significant improvement so we are continuing to give her the medicine every 3 days by mixing it in with her food. With time, we are hopeful that it will begin to take effect.

Gibby : In January gibby started to vomit shortly after feeding times. She was health checked by Dr Tum and is in good health. She is a very energetic gibbon and spends a lot of time swinging from one side of her cage to the other. It was thought that this constant swinging could be the cause of her vomitting so her swing was temporarily removed (she still has a short rope swing). The vomitting stopped but early in March she started to vomit sometimes. She is otherwise fit and healthy but is being monitored closely.

Guinness : Guinness can be seen from the observation area at the Education Centre. He is normally energetic and vocal. Early in February during the daily health check one of his cheeks appeared to be swollen. Dr Tum checked on him and saw that he had been stung or bitten by an insect. Guinness is now back to normal.

Honey : Honey is the only Gibbon happy when it is raining. She jumps around in the rain and looks verry happy when the rest of our Gibbons are hiding under the rain cower that we have on all the cages.

Bo : It apers that Bo is spending more time togther with Tam this days. He always come as close as he can to have a look when Tam gets her powder.

Tam : Tam is a permanent resident at GRP due to her physical disabilities of only having one hand and one foot. Beaten so brutally by her owner that amputations were necessary, she was then put in a cage with other gibbons without introduction and they bit off all but two fingers on her remaining hand. Her food is cut smaller than most other gibbons so that she can pick it up easily. Every day staff and volunteers apply talcuum powder between her two remaining fingers to stop them becoming raw. She and Bo often sit together where their two cages are seperated.

Breeding pairs     

Cop, Jorn and Sherpa (Cop and Sherpa, left Picture) : Cop gave birth to a male baby in early October 2010 and it was named Sherpa. The baby and Cop are both well and already Sherpa is starting to climb but never more than an arms length from Cop. Cop and Jorn both seem to be caring parents and they should all be released as a family sometime in 2012. Cop and Jorn are seperated at feeding times because Cop has extra food and some vitamins to produce milk and give her strength to look after Sherpa.

Mee and Jojo : Jojo (male), born wild in 1999 and Mee(female), a year younger, formed an immediate bond when they became cage mates as juveniles, and have been together ever since. They are both close to reaching sexual maturity so it is very likely that they will produce offspring soon. Jojo was originally a pet, whose owner gave him over voluntarily to the GRP, whilst Mee had been kept in a cage outside a restaurant in Bangkok.

Annie and Aye Aye : Annie (female), born wild in 1995, was kept as a pet and had a finger missing on one hand and a very matted coat, with dreadlocked fur, when she came to GRP. Aye Aye (male), three years Annie’s junior, was being kept in a cage in a temple, when a married couple took pity on him and brought him to GRP. This couple has formed a solid bond and we feel that they are strong candidates for having a family and being successfully released in the near future.

Max and Nuan : Max and Nuan have been together in a large adjoined cage at the highest point in the rehabilitation site. Nuan will give birth to a new baby Gibbon in the near future. So we will have a new little Gibbon here at GRP. Maybe we can send picture of the new baby in our next news letter.

Tom and Ollie : Tom (female), born wild in 1986 was kept as a pet, whilst Ollie (Male), born wild in 1989 was confiscated and brought to GRP after spending years being forced to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol for the amusement of tourists around the bars of Phuket. They only have eyes for each other. Tom likes nothing better than to scare the wits out of new volunteers passing by her cage by jumping at them, but when it comes to Ollie she shows a very tender side. They spend all day grooming each other and even though they are an older pair, we still hope that they will have a family together.

Jonus & Santi : Santi was born at the project on Christmas Eve 1999. Unfortunately his birth brought conflict between his parents, soon after he was rejected and needed to be hand raised by staff and volunteers. Jonus was kept as a pet in Phuket. She was moved into an adjoining cage with Santi, they spend their time together now, only being seperated at feeding times.

Families in the forest

Kushta family (Kushta, Muki, Nat and PeeMai), Below picture : The Kushta family were taken to the training cage up in the forest on January 30th 2011. They are fed every day and are under observation before they are reintroduced into the forest. Their will soon be five families of gibbons living free in the forest.

Kushta Family and Moving

Since being taken to the forest at the end of January, the Kushta family are taken food every day. Each time food has been taken to them Arun has been seen near the training cage. On March 2nd a gibbon was reported seen around Bang Pae waterfall. When GRP staff, investigated they found that it was Arun, he is not an aggressive gibbon so no further action was taken. Arun has since been seen at the rehabilitation site in the trees above Cop, Jorn and Sherpa’s cage.

Arun Family : We have some sad news: Redy (Lek and Bank’s daughter) disappeared from the group. The last time we saw all member together was on the 19th September 2010 including Lek, Bank, Arun and Redy. But after that we only found Lek, Bank and Arun not Ready. We have spent a lot of time looking for her, using staff and volunteers (Long term and ISV volunteers) but we can't finde her. Now we suspected that she got taken by predator such as Kites, Sparrowhawks or Eagles when swinging around on the top of canopy far from her mother or she might got eaten by snake like Pythons when sleeping at night.

(Tony: Left picture and Lek: Right picture)

Jita Family : We still feed them every other day but since the beginning of March we reduced food from 1.5 to 1.0 kilogram because they have planty of fruit around there territory. They all seems to be healthy and Claire getting bigger now.

Puyu Family : This group is doing well especially Namthip her’s belly looked big all the time. Sometime she play by herself or spend her time playing with Payu and her sister Newbe-Mek. One day during observation on this family (with ISV volunteers) they all moved to the east and saw Tony (the father from Jita family) they were hooting and singing for about half an hour before they moved away from each other.

Hope Family : We still see them along nature trail, sometime we can see Thong spending time with the Hope group or someday he visit Kushta family and met up with Arun since we moved Kushta family up to training cage. 

Hope and Yoge were seen in the forest by Dr Tum, Hope still looks pregnant.

(1)    (2)     (3)

Kip and Omyim (1), Dao and Newbe (2), Yoge (3)

Rescue

Long tail Macaque : On February 28th a GRP specialist (Yan) went to a neighbourhood in Phang Nga Province to capture and remove a long tailed macaque which has been a nuisance in the area. Unfortunately due to the loss of daylight the macaque was very difficult to locate and it was decided that another attempt would be made in the near future.     

Slow loris (Below) : A Slow loris was found on the electric cables in front of GRP office Yan climed up and rescued the Slow loris that had some burn on the body. Later it was set free in the forest by GRP staaf and volonteers.

Other news
From December to January three groups of International Student Volunteers (ISV) spent time at the project and helped with many tasks, including.

• Carrying out observations of gibbon families in the forest.
• Repair and cut more trail in reintroduction site.
• Distributing leaflets at all of the major tourist beaches on Phuket.
• Painting the shop at the Education Centre.
• Helping to build new cages for Maesa and Tunda.
• Replacing the wire mesh on the cage of Seagame, Beauty and Jane.
• Make new enrichment containers.
• Removing unsafe trees from around the volunteer bungalows.

Foreigners lost : 2 Danish guys was lost in the forest 5th feb 2011. Staaf from GRP, Forest department and Tourist Police found them in the forest around midnight. They spent 8 hours in the forest after being scared by Tony (male Gibbon)and got lost. GRP staaf was back at GRP office around 2 am after bringing the guys back safe and in good health.

We need volunteers

GRP are only given support by donations, adoptions, from the shop and volunteers always needed to help with many tasks to look after the gibbons.

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