Three hoolock gibbons released in Mehao sanctuary

ITANAGAR: Forest officials in Arunachal Pradesh released a family of three hoolock gibbons in Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary in lower Dibang Valley district. The gibbon family was stranded on an isolated cluster of trees at Dello village in the district.

The hoolock gibbons were moved from the village to the sanctuary on Friday as part of the third leg of an ongoing project to rescue a group of hoolock gibbons stranded in the village since December last year, sources said on Saturday.

With the three gibbons, five families of hoolock gibbons have been successfully translocated and released in the sanctuary.

"Since we have done this before, capturing the animals was a lot easier and we did it without lopping any tree," said primatologist Kuladeep Roy, who is working on the project. "It is important to cause minimum stress to the animals to ensure better survival," he added.

A team of veterinarians and biologists from the International Fund for Animal Welfare - Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI) are assisting the state's forest department in this project, which is supported by Noyen-Melendez Family Trust, Serenity Trust and philanthropists Himraj Dang, Subhadra and Kannan Jayaraman.

"The habitat of these endangered animals is degrading rapidly," said Ipra Mekola, Arunachal Pradesh State Wildlife Advisory member.

"Last year the team identified a group of hoolock gibbons, which urgently needed to be translocated from Dello as they were stranded in an isolated cluster of trees there. Being canopy dwellers, their descent to the ground for food and water makes them vulnerable to predation and poaching," she added.

Hoolock gibbons are the only apes found in India and their distribution is restricted to the northeast region. The two species found in the region are eastern hoolock gibbon (hoolock leuconedys) and western hoolock gibbons (hoolock hoolock). They are protected under the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.