In nature Gibbons are more often heard than seen. Being able to collaborate with this baby abandoned by his mother was nothing short of a miracle. I created a small nest of orchids to make him more comfortable. He looked up, his eyes so wide I could watch my mirrored shadow. I wonder if he saw my tear when he started sucking his thumb.
Due to illegal consumption (!) and habitat loss, these “gentlemen of the forest”, as they are called, are among the most endangered primates on earth. At the current rate of deforestation, the Indonesian rainforests, home to the world’s largest number of gibbon species, could disappear in just over twenty years.
(Anne de Carbuccia)