I love all animals, but I've always had a soft spot for Primates.
I have a diploma in Primatology, and another in Zoology. I have a BA (Hons) degree in Media, which I wish I'd never done.
I have recently become a voluntary Ambassador for Wild Futures, a UK based primate charity and sanctuary.
I'm also a huge Potterhead, and would have studied Care of Magical Creatures at NEWT level if only my letter hadn't gotten lost in the Muggle post.
Feel free to submit at
primatewin.tumblr.com/submit
Ask me a question at
primatewin.tumblr.com/ask
“My Little Furry Friend” by Ashley Vincent:)
Gollum the Gibbon at Khao Kheow Zoo, in Chonburi Province, Thailand.
Picture: Ashley Vincent/Solent News & Photo Agency (via Pictures of the day: 8 October 2012 - Telegraph)
Earlier this month, Siamang mom and dad, Jamby and Jan (Jan is the boy), welcomed their first baby, which also marks the first baby Siamang forZoological Center Tel Aviv Ramat Gan. Even though Jamby’s pregnancy lasted eight months, the healthy baby weighed in at just 170 grams (1/3rd of a pound)!
When these Siamangs first arrived at Zoo Tel Aviv, they were exhibited with the Orangutans but the match was not meant to be. Jamby and Jan felt the need assert their dominance over their gentle roommates. When keepers decided the Siamangs were being bullies, the red apes were relocated.
Siamangs are endangered in their native home of Southeast Asia due to habitat destruction.
From zooborns.com
Amongst all the other things, I saw:
a Capuchin with a baby,
a Black and White Colobus with a baby,
a Pileated Gibbon taking a whole Leek in its mouth like a giant cigar and swinging around with it, casual as anything,
a second Capuchin using a flat stone as an anvil to break open what he thought were nuts (alas, they were fruit kernals, so all his efforts went to waste), using one hand, then two hands together, to hit the kernal against the rock, and then using two hands to roll and ‘knead’ the kernal against the stone with a constant motion,
a young Chimpanzee swinging around and having a right royal time, then colliding with the shoulders of an adult, getting a telling off, and going off to sulk in a corner,
and
an Orangutan taking long pieces of straw, and threading them in and out of the bars of his enclosure, like a basketweave.
Primates are the best.
Thailand Holiday: Never Get Your Photograph Taken with a Gibbon.
Gibbons, apes known for their speed and distinctive singing, were wiped out through poaching by 1980s on Thailand’s popular Phuket island. Young gibbons, unfortunately for them, are so darn adorable that we can’t resist them - and this is exactly what some locals in Thailand take advantage of. It is not uncommon to see people carrying around baby gibbons selling the chance to hold them and get your photograph taken. But where do they come from and how do they get there? To be honest, it’s not a pretty story. To get a young gibbon, it must be stolen from the family group in the wild. Most of the time the family members retaliate (and rightly so) which leads to them being shot dead.
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.
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.
(Source: jfirpi)
Two Gibbons vocalising.
Paradise Wildlife Park in Broxbourne, U.K. is proud to announce the arrival of a baby Lar Gibbon born to mother Mugwai and father Gremlin on Thursday 5th January 2012. Mother and Baby are doing very well. Section Leader of Primates, Steve Goodwin says, “This is the first baby for Mugwai, but she is proving to be a really good mum. We haven’t been able to get close enough to sex the baby yet, and we’re excited to find out if it is a boy or a girl.” Also known as a White-headed Gibbon, this endangered species is threatened in the wild by habitat destruction, the illegal pet trade, and poaching. From ZooBorns
