This is one of the many facts I learned about Gibbons this past weekend. Denise found out about a fundraiser for the Gibbon Center in Santa Clarita, so we decided to actually wake up quite early on a Saturday to go out there and show our support. Our friends Cathleen and Rhonda joined us for the adventure and said it was the single most amazing moment in their lives (well, I'm exaggerating, but it was pretty damn cool). The Center studies the Gibbons to learn about their behavior and reproduction patterns, in the hopes of saving the species and preserving them in the wild as opposed to keeping them all in zoos.
They provided a vegan breakfast which involved tables and tables of food such as granola, bagels, soy cream cheese, soy yogurt, soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, fruits, veggies, oatmeal, some sort of potato/bean dish and much, much more. It was like a feast made especially for me. :) After breakfast, the scientist/founder of the Gibbon Center spoke to the attendees and answered any questions people may have. Some of the interesting things I remember are Gibbons are monogamous, fiercely territorial, come in 15 different species (although he may have proof there are 16), and are highly endangered in certain areas of the world. He said that they attempt to keep the ones from the wild and their offspring as free from human interaction as possible, in the hopes they can reintroduce them into the wild eventually. It would not be advantageous for them to trust humans, because then poachers would find them easy targets. Still, some of the more rare Gibbons have come from zoos in China where they were humanized, so he said they do not know if they are Gibbon or human. I'm not sure how the Center keeps the wild Gibbons wild since they are cared for by humans and fed by them, but I am confident this guy knows what he is doing. For more information on the Center, here is their website. http://www.gibboncenter.org/
After listening to the question and answer phase for awhile, Denise and I decided to wander around the area and look at all the different Gibbons. To watch them swing from branch to branch is pretty awe inspiring, and I'm constantly amazed at the seeming awareness and human like characteristics of apes/monkeys in general. One cute moment was when a toddler Gibbon started performing and wanting to play with the children that were looking at him. He was spinning around, jumping, and climbing on the cage. It is like the Gibbon knew these were small creatures that might be willing to romp around with him.
The final highlight of the morning was when the Gibbons decided that they would start performing the territorial call which they are famous for. Since we were surrounded by different species of Gibbon, each call was a bit different. I really cannot describe what these calls sounded like, but they were unlike anything I have ever heard come from an animals mouth. At times it was so loud you had to yell at each other to try to carry on a conversation. Denise got much of it on video, and we have been trying to upload it online to send to people. If we can accomplish this, I will post it on here.
We left hot, covered in sand (it was damn windy), and incredibly happy that we made it out of bed to support this cause and see this wondrous display. Gibbons rule!
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