Just hanging around
Pepper, a gibbon, swings from her enclosure at the Gibbon Conservation Center in Saugus. The center has been working to build a brand new enclosed structure specifically designed for the gibbons’ unique way of moving.
The Gibbon Conservation Center in Saugus has been working for years to help stop one of humanity’s closest cousins, the gibbon, from becoming extinct.
Working toward this goal, the center is looking to build a brand new enclosed structure specifically designed for the gibbons’ unique way of moving. The new structure will hopefully help introduce two northern white-cheeked gibbons, Pepper and Nate, to each other, according Alma Rodriguez, operations and development manager of the Gibbon Center in Bouquet Canyon.
“There are only about 1,000 left of them in the world,” Rodriguez said regarding the northern white-cheeked gibbons. “We’re going to introduce Pepper and Nate: They were both born here, and we want to pair them off together. They’re part of a species survival plan.”
Pepper and Nate are genetically different from each other, which makes them prime candidates to pair off in order to create a diverse offspring, according to Rodriguez.
The new structure being designed for the center is being priced at around $100,000, and the center is looking for donations and fundraising options to meet that goal by the end of October.
“The actual design came from Brent Hoerner Structural engineering,” Rodriguez said. “He came out, he watched the gibbons and he proposed the design to us. We loved it. We told him to go forward with it.”
So far, the center has raised $20,000, which has come from the Henry Mayo Newhall Foundation through a donation. By Saturday, the center was hoping to meet with local residents to discuss fundraiser ideas the center could use to raise money. However, no one attended.
All species of gibbons are considered endangered and places like the Gibbon Conservation Center are making an effort to stop the decline through repopulation efforts and awareness events.
“When people see this firsthand and with their own eyes, they have a new appreciation and it sticks with them throughout their day,” Rodriguez said. “They build a connection with the gibbons. They are very similar to humans. They live in families with a mom, dad, offspring. They all have unique upbringings and personalities. That resonates more with people and they care a little more.”
Those wishing to donate to the center can visit its website at https://www.gibboncenter.org/donations.html.