New baby from Jita and Tony

Jita gave birth to a baby female on the morning of 26 November 2008.  Staff were particularly pleased when they noticed that Jita was pregnant, as the couple have had no previous offspring despite being together for more than five years.  The baby looks very healthy and has been named Claire.

New gibbon family group forms in Khao Phra Thaew Forest

Dao and Thong were released into Khao Phra Thaew Non-Hunting Area by the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project separately as juveniles.  Thong is a brown male, and was released in 2002 at two years old with the Hope family group, the first to be reintroduced.  Three year old Dao, a black female, followed in 2003 as part of the Arun family group. 

At eight years old, they have now both reached sexual maturity.  In June of this year, Dao was observed singing in the forest when Thong arrived in response to her call.  They then played together until disturbed by Dao’s adoptive father Bank.  They have since been seen together regularly, and have been observed singing duets together and copulating.  Thong is no longer spending time with the Hope family group, and it is thought that the pair will establish their own territory together. 

This is fantastic news, as it gives further hope for the future establishment of a viable population of wild born gibbons in a forest where they were hunted to extinction in the 1980’s.  Dao and Thong now have three wild born siblings between them: Hope (b. 2002), Toffee (b. 2006), and Redy (b. 2008)

Thong and Dao

We are in need of VOLUNTEERS. We rely entirely on volunteers and private donations to achieve our goals and further our cause. We welcome financial assistance, volunteers to help with our work and experts who can advise us. 100% of all donations go directly to the animals in our care. Interesting to join our team, contact May Volunteer Co-ordinator at volunteer@warthai.org

There are numerous gibbons being used as tourist attractions on Phuket. By paying to have your photo taken with a gibbon you are helping these people to reduce the numbers of wild gibbons and cause suffering to this beautiful animal.Gibbons ensure the health and vitality of the rainforests in which they live. Therefore, their survival must be ensured far into the future. Gibbons are threatened by loss of habitat, but also increasingly, by hunting and the illegal pet market. Remember, each cute baby gibbon you see at a market or beach had its mother shot dead by poachers. This loss destroys the family group forever.

This is where you can help. Don’t have your photograph taken with a gibbon or use the bars they are kept in and don’t buy baby gibbons anywhere. Report any poaching activity seen or heard to the National Park Headquarters or the Natural Resources and Environment Crime Division (forest@royalthaipolice.go.th). You can report it directly to DNP through their website http://www.dnp.go.th/complain/index.asp If we work together we can try and stop this trade.

Beware they BITE!!

When gibbons reach sexual maturity at six or seven years old, they develop large canines and become aggressive. At this stage they may be dumped or killed. Some owners will give the gibbons to organisations like us or to The National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department when they reach sexual maturity. They will then acquire a new baby gibbon which will be easier to handle and more attractive to tourists. If they do decide to keep the gibbons, they may file down or remove their canines and then place the gibbon in a tiny cage or chain it up.

Message from our HEARTS

We are fighting the sorrow and the obstacles,
We try to make our dream come true everyday,
With our strength and energy, our hopes and our dreams we wish to hear the gibbon’s song again
We are trying to release gibbons back to their natural habitat,
We hope to rebuild the gibbon’s population in Khao Pra Thaew,
It’s our dream for the animals to be able to live and sing free in this forest,
The forest which will be home to all animals.

Finally, the song of the gibbon is echoing around this forest again,
We hope all of you will help us keep the song going,
With your support and belief, we can make our dream come true,
Our dream to fill Khao Pra Thaew with gibbons,
The home for all animals.
Khao Pra Thaew, the last remaining forest of Phuket, A home for all animals.