Phuket Gibbon Rehabilitation Project

The Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (GRP) is a research division of the Wild Animal Rescue Foundation of Thailand. It was established in 1992 with the aim of saving gibbons and their rainforest habitat through rehabilitation and education.

The education program aims to reduce poaching and deforestation, and gain support for the project and for conservation in Thailand. The GRP is an effective resource for teaching both the local community and tourists, and attracts international students who wish to study gibbons. Gibbon conservation is not a problem unique to Thailand, and what is learned here is passed on to other projects with similar aims.

The work of the gibbon rehabilitation project is described below. It is located in the centre of Phuket Island close to the Bang Pae waterfall, and is well worth a visit during your stay in Phuket.

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Gibbons are small, monogamous territorial apes that live in the upper canopy of the lowland rainforests of South East Asia. These apes have a unique form of locomotion - an arm to arm swinging movement known as brachiation.

Also unique to gibbons are their loud territorial songs, which can be heard for several kilometres in the rainforest. In the wild, gibbons feed mainly on fruit, flowers and insects, and they can live for more than 30 years.

Thailand's gibbons are threatened by the destruction of their rainforest habitat, but also by illegal poaching for meat, medicine and the pet trade. All nine species of gibbon in SE Asia are listed in Appendix I of CITES and it has been illegal to take a gibbon from the wild in Thailand since 1992. Sadly though, this practice still continues because gibbons are very valuable, both on the local and international markets.

The GRP works with white-handed gibbons, the most widespread of the 4 species found in Thailand. Gibbon babies are acquired when their mothers are shot, and they are then illegally sold as pets or tourist attractions. Sometimes they end up in bars being taunted and forced to drink whisky or smoke cigarettes. This solitary and cruel existence is a far cry from the family life they would have in the wild.

When gibbons reach sexual maturity at six or seven years old, they can become aggressive, and are often dumped or killed. If they are kept, their teeth are often removed or filed down, and the gibbons are kept in tiny cages or in chains. The GRP works with gibbons that have come from family homes or bars, in an effort to repopulate the rainforests where gibbons once lived before they were so heavily poached.

When a gibbon comes to the GRP it receives a medical check including blood tests, and then undergoes a quarantine period. Before the gibbons are released into the wild, they are put through a long rehabilitation programme. This involves introducing them to a series of environments which are designed to encourage their natural behaviour and provide them with the opportunity to practice brachiating, eat natural foods and have maximum contact with other gibbons and minimal contact with humans.

Juvenile gibbons are put together, and adults are given the chance to form pairs. Large cages at the GRP in Phuket and uninhabited islands in Phang Nga bay are used as stepping stones for the gibbons, which are eventually released back into the rainforest. Here, after a long acclimatisation period, the gibbons will learn to survive by themselves. Continuous research is carried out to assess the gibbons development at every stage and follow up studies are done after their release. Not all gibbons meet the criteria for the rehabilitation program, so some cannot be released. The best care possible is provided for such animals at the GRP.

The GRP is currently funded to a large extent by donations from the public visiting our waterfall site and from a volunteer program that we run. The volunteers make a donation to the GRP as well as giving their time and energy, and stay for several months at a time, either improving their studies or using their qualifications to help the project. The GRP constantly needs money to provide cages, food, veterinary care and scientific equipment for the project. People, companies and universities interested in sponsoring the GRP, either with financial or equipment support can contact the project with proposals.

For more details about the gibbon rehabilitation project and other projects run by the Wild Animal Rescue Foundation of Thailand, you can use the contact information and web site link below. You can also read more about the Gibbon Project and Bang Pae Waterfall on Jamie's Phuket Blog.