The gibbons at Matang have long been favourites of volunteers and visitors to the centre due to their charming personalities and beautiful features. Gibbons are also apes, though termed ‘lesser apes’, so are close cousins of ours indeed. They are elegant and graceful, with a territorial song that can be heard kilometres away.



In the last few weeks we have received 3 more gibbons at the centre, all full adult and of differing sub species. One, pictured above, is a potential partner for Teresa, who has been a long term female resident at Matang. With gibbons, individuals of the same sex do not get along, therefore the aim is to partner them successfully with the opposite sex. Gibbons are monogamous, and it has been shown that their best chance for rehabilitation is to form successful partnerships, leading to family units. However, as with people, just because there is now a male match for Teresa, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will like each other. The integration process can be long indeed, and we hope they will get along.




The newest arrivals are already a pair, and the keepers hastily welded a temporary holding cage for them in the quarantine area. They are in good health, and obviously are comfortable with each other already, which is great news in terms of potential candidates for rehabilitation.

Volunteers from March 2010 no doubt have very fond memories of moving a few tons of rocks into cages on a very muddy river bank. You were laying the foundations for a new gibbon enclosure, which has now almost been completed. This area was conceived and welded almost entirely by Hillary Kidding, a treasured keeper of many skills who tragically died earlier this year.



It is a huge area, and the one man task of welding obviously took a very long time. It is now being finished off by some extra contractors employed by Forestry. It will become home to most of the 7 gibbons now resident at Matang, hopefully with them living in successful partnerships and enjoying the new space to flex their muscles and practice their aerial acrobatics.
Every volunteer in the past year has contributed to this construction task, whether it was moving rocks, laying a brick or painting one of the many, many steel frames now in place. A big thank you to all of you, on behalf of the gibbons who will soon be enjoying their new home.