Some of the residents.

A few of the characters.

So, as promised, here is an introduction to some of the great characters that reside at Highland Farm.
It seems only fitting to begin with the lady who started it all, No, not Pharanee but Miss Chester. I’m going to be lazy and just paste in her story from an earlier entry.
“Unfortunately certain hill-tribes in this area do actually hunt Gibbons for their meat. One day a man called to their (Pharanee and Bill), as yet unfinished, door and offered them a baby Gibbon for sale. They were reluctant to pay money as this only encourages the trade but he was threatening to sell it to a bar in Bangkok. There it would have been doomed to live a short life chained to a bar and made to smoke and drink for the amusement of the customers. In the end they agreed to pay 500 Baht for it, around $15 at today’s exchange rate. This was the last time they ever paid for a Gibbon. They named the young baby Chester, it is difficult to tell the sex of a baby Gibbon and she later became Miss Chester. This was the beginning of the sanctuary, abused and mistreated Gibbons then started arriving from all over Thailand.”
Today Miss Chester is 18 years old; She lives with her partner Johnny and is in perfect health. She has had several babies over the years but now receives a contraceptive injection every 3 months. I think Johnny is quite relieved!

Sonia.
Sonia is the oldest Gibbon here at the sanctuary. She is 39 years old and in good health, she could well live to be 45 or even 50 years old. She is a yellow cheeked crested Gibbon, these are a rare sub-species from Vietnam. She is a very feisty lady which is why I was unable to get close enough to get some photos without the wire. Her previous owner had developed senile dementia and would quite often forget to feed Sonia. Here she is on 3 square meals a day and lives with her partner David.

Jerry.
Working with primates you get to meet all sorts of characters. Some crack you up with their sense of fun, others melt your heart. I'm afraid Jerry has melted mine, well and truely. At first I thought he was obese or even pregnant then I heard his story and now I have to visit him everyday.
Jerry is 18 years old, he arrived at the sanctuary in a bad way. His owner was a soldier and for some reason, perhaps Jerry was approaching adulthood and started to bite, kicked Jerry so hard that he shattered his pelvis and compounded his spine. Jerry received no veterinary treatment for this and some time later his owner dropped him off at a rescue centre near Bangkok. They were unable to give Jerry the care he needed and so called Pharanee to come and collect him. He has recovered well but unfortunately doesn’t like the company of other Gibbons. Thankfully he is surrounded by them without having to actually be in the same enclosure as them. He gets to sing and take part in any excitement that is going on. He loves to have his back scratched and lets you groom him as long as you are quiet and not wearing boots.
Keri ;o)

Few days update.

OK, so before I introduce you to some of the individuals that live here I’ll just quickly update you on the last few days’ events.
DAY 7. One week in.
After breakfast Pharanee and I get a chance to walk around and I am introduced properly to some of the characters that reside here. The sun is out and it seems like a fine day to take photos. No-one told Jane this! She is a rather formidable female who almost rips my lens right off within about 4 minutes of my tour.
After lunch Ta Win and I head back into Mae Sot to get the rest of the materials and another layer of paint is put on. While we are away some of the lads make another set of Monkey/Ape bars/escalators. I reckon it won’t be long until all the enclosures have them as there is an abundance of Bamboo to be used. I have requested some 8m long triple beam ones for the new enclosures.

DAY 9. Sunday 23/11/2008
Stephanie and I accompanied Pharanee to a Buddhist Temple in the hills today. It is a beautiful place and we all left feeling quite serene. The Temple was decorated by one man who was apparently completely bonkers. He had long matted hair and wore a white sheet, the kind that is normally used to wrap up the dead! After 13 years the work was complete and the result is amazing.

DAY 10. Monkey nuts for Monkey puzzles!
Today I made a puzzle for the monkeys then realized we had no nuts to put in it! So after lunch, Pharanee took me to the nearby markets to buy some vegetables and a bag of Monkey nuts/peanuts. We bought pumpkins, green beans, frilly beans, pak choi, bananas, mandarins and aubergine. We then went to the Sunday market, which is on everyday, and bought some morning glory, which the Gibbons love. I also picked up a bag of freshly dug up and boiled monkey nuts which are so much more tasty than the dried out things we wind up with in the U.K.
I try out the monkey puzzle on the young Gibbons first but they weren’t too impressed and just kept tipping the nuts onto the ground! The monkeys, on the other hand, were intrigued. They checked out the puzzle from every angle and then started to stick their arms up the big hole to try and grab them. It was great to see the concentration on some of their faces. I just need to make a few adjustments and a few more puzzles and then they can all have a go.

DAY 11. Drama-rama.
So, last night we had a burglary. After breakfast Nok went to double check the materials against the receipt. She discovered that 10 of our 1-½ inch crossbeams had been stolen, around 3000Baht ($100) worth. There were clear footprints against the wall to the land next door. The neighbour is actually away at the moment so somebody has come across his land from the nearby village. I had been out just before dusk 2 days ago and saw someone with a ladder up against a shed next door exactly where the materials have been taken from. I didn’t think anything of it at the time so I didn’t mention it to anyone. I also heard a funny metallic noise at around midnight last night, which I did mention to Pharanee this morning. She told me that there is a Garage nearby and sometimes they work late. We didn’t think any more about it.
I went with Pharanee to the nearby Police station and we had a chat with a very lively chap who was happy to help. He, and a colleague, came back to Highland Farm with us and had a good look at the boundaries. He knows a couple of the local crooks so he reckons he will let us know in 2 days if he finds them.
After that I start work on a model hatch and runway so that Ta Win has a blueprint to copy when I have gone. Pharanee is attending a funeral in Chiang Mai this weekend so I have the time off to explore the area and be a tourist. This means that, including today, I only have 6 full days left at Highland Farm!
Keri ;o)

Monkey/ape bars.....Escalators!

Day 5.

This morning we discussed the changes to the enclosure plan in light of the price of materials. We agree to go ahead with 5 new enclosures. 3 larger ones at 9m x 6m by 4m high, then 2 smaller ones at 6m x 6m by4m high. Every enclosure will have at least 2 runways connecting them with 2 hatches on each runway. Apart from the other uses I have mentioned of being able to move the gibbons around, the runways enable 2 or more enclosures to become one bigger space. This will be good when there are larger groups or when they are introducing 2 adults to one another. If introducing a male to a female you can start by opening one end of a runway and leave the other end shut, this enables the gibbons to be close but not close enough to harm each other if they decide they don't like one another.

I discover that there is a pile of ready cut Bamboo and I spend the afternoon digging bits out for my Monkey/Ape bars.

Day 6.

After Breakfast I'm told that we are off to buy materials. Yesterday afternoon Nok phoned around all the suppliers and found the best prices for us. I head off with Ta Win, the main maintenance guy, and we make a a plan to met up with Pharanee in Mae Sot. After about an hour and a half in the hardware store (one of my favorite kind of places) we set off with a pick-up full of beams, paint and some bits I had to get for enrichment and remotely operated hatches (my Fav.).

After lunch I go and offer Ta Win my help. He and his team are putting the first layer of anti-rust paint on. I take some photos and Ta Win mimes that they are OK for help, he doesn't speak English. I then mime that I am happy to go and start digging post holes (something I have done many times before) so he says OK then goes off to get a set square and a tape measure. He then gives a spade to one of the guys that was painting and it dawns on me that he thinks I want to take photos of them digging holes! It takes a while but eventually I manage to explain and we all have a good laugh about it. I then explain that I am happy to go and dig holes but he won't let me. I guess that I am the guest and they don't want me to get my hands dirty, a lovely sentiment but I actually enjoy getting my hands very dirty!

So, I head off with a few tools to carry on with my Bamboo Monkey/Ape bars. I have found two 5&1/2 m lengths that curve upwards in the same way so I start to chisel away to make holes for the bars. Ta Win comes over and mimes that they have a drill to do that so we carry the pieces over to the tool cupboard and get to work. We work hard on getting it right for around 2 hours and once it is finished Ta Win sticks it into an enclosure with around 7 young Gibbons in it. It is an instant hit. There is a flurry of excitement and straight away they are brachiating back and forth along it, even Scotty who only has one arm, gets involved. Everyone stops what they are doing and comes to watch. Gibbons have a ball and socket joint in their wrists. This enables the youngsters to reach the end and, without removing their hand, spin 180 degrees and head back the way they came. One of the women that works here says that the Gibbons seem to be loving the escalators!

I get a great sense of achievement at the end of the day, things are moving along very quickly and I feel that I have been able to help these lovely creatures that live here. Now that I have set the scene and introduced the work I shall be doing I'm going to use my next few blogs to introduce you to some of the characters I have met here. Right now, I'm off to get a massive lunch somewhere!

Keri ;o)

Market day!

DAY 4.
This morning we have an early start. We set off to drop Peter and Siebrecht at Mae Sot bus station for the next leg of their trip. Siebrecht lets a few tears escape and I imagine that many people find Highland Farm, and Pharanee, hard to leave.
Then we head of to the market. Pharanee travels the 45km to Mae Sot twice a week to buy all the fruit she needs. The vegetables like Pak choi and pumpkin tend to come from the local farms close to the sanctuary. Mandarin oranges are in season at the moment and most stalls are selling them by the bagload. Some of the stall owners must have been out early with the superglue as they have 2ft-tall perfect pyramids of them adorning their stalls. There are also pyramids of football sized Grapefruits. It isn't quite the manic hustle and bustle that I had expected though it is great fun watching Pharanee barter with the stall owners.
So, after buying some nice ripe mangoes, bags of mandarins and olives (a kiwi-sized fruit!) we drive around the corner to get some more bits. This is where the manic hustle and bustle is! We have to drive at around 2mph as motorbikes dodge past and people, carrying all sorts of wonders, cross in front of us. All along the pavement people have stalls or just blankets on the ground. There are chillies of all shapes and sizes, various roots, wodges of coriander, lime leaves, lemongrass, multiple varieties of aubergine, chunks of palm tree and of course lots of designer jeans and T-shirts! It is absolutely fantastic. I was glad I didn't bring my camera as it was a complete assault on the senses and I loved being able to absorb it all. Sights, sound, smells and even stray tastes assaulted me, I was tempted to start touching everything just to complete the sensory experience!
We parked up at Pharanee's favorite stall and loaded up the pick-up with bags of aubergine, cucumbers, watermelons and a few others I have yet to recognise.
On the way home we stopped at Tesco's, it is exactly the same layout as the ones in the U.K but with completely different produce. I stocked up on goodies and availed myself to a pair of Ray-Bans. Genuine article of course! We then stopped off to check out the prices of materials for the enclosures. The rest of the afternoon I spent trying to fix the laptop until the point where it completely turned its toes up!
That night I sat and worked out the various costs for the enclosures using the different materials available to us. I had been all for spending more money on longer lasting materials such as 3in round posts and 1 1/2 in round beams but looking at the difference in price ( between 3-4 times more expensive) I would rather have more enclosures with a network of runways and hatches. Also I think it would be good to have one spare empty enclosure that can be used to move the Gibbons around for a change of scenery and to enable safe cleaning and plenty of enrichment.
Keri ;o)

Days 2 & 3 and a little rant!

DAY 2.
After the morning primate (Gibbons, monkeys then us) breakfasts Pharanee shows me the space they have cleared for the new enclosures. After discussing some new designs I had in mind and agreeing on the materials and size of the enclosures we take a walk around the Gibbons. I am introduced and get to hear some of their stories. When I get some good photos and get to recognize them all I will do some individual profiles for my blog.
We go for lunch just up the road to Pharanee's favorite restaurant, the food is great and it seems I will be able to sample some great vegetarian dishes while I am here. I just have to learn the Thai for “No fish sauce please”. Pharanee drives us in the direction of the mountains so we can see Burma but also to show us the extent of deforestation. There is barely a tree in site, what trees there are are softwoods that have been planted recently to produce fruit or firewood. On the way back the heavens open and I am treated to my first rain in over a week. It is now too wet to walk around the land so we agree to do it tomorrow.
That night I get to look through Pharanee's old photo albums. There really was nothing at all on the land when they first moved there. There is a series of photos of the house being built, there were no blueprints as it was all in Bills head. This filled me full of respect for them both as the results are amazing given that they only started in 1991.

DAY 3.
Pharanee has lent me her laptop so I had started to keep a diary on it to then transfer to my blog twice a week when we come into Mae Sot. Unfortunately after about 30 mins the laptop died or cashed in its chips, whatever it is that computers do when they die! So I am now in Mae Sot rapidly typing up some notes I have made. Please excuse any spelling mistakes.
Today we had a walk around the land. For 35 acres it is amazing what has been squeezed in here. There is woodland, a bamboo plantation, fruit trees of every kind and even a rice field which has just been harvested. The Gibbons and the monkeys get rice balls once a week and the dogs and cats are fed it every day. They have produced enough to last for a whole year.
Part of the funding application was to redo the perimeter fence. There is a little stream that normally runs through the North end of the land. This year when it flooded it actually broke the concrete posts and flattened the fence. This enabled people to sneak in from the nearest village and start chopping down trees and stealing firewood. Having seen photos of how the land looked in 1991 it is amazing to walk around it now. It is a wildlife haven in an otherwise wholly agricultural countryside. As little as 50 years ago this whole area was tropical forest. Pharanee has been told that there were lots of Gibbons here and the older generation are reminded of how it used to be by the sounds coming from Highland Farm. The regeneration of this land is an important educational tool in an area like this. Schoolkids come to visit and many people drop in to see the Gibbons.
It is unlikely that this region, or in fact, any deforested areas in Thailand will ever be restored to their former glory which makes it all the more important to protect what is left. We can plant lots of trees and help create havens for wildlife but tropical forest takes 1000’s of years to develop the diversity necessary to support the species that, up until 100 years ago, still thrived in these wild places. Demand from the west for tropical hardwoods such as Teak and Mahogany provided the incentive for people to cut faster and further into the forests than ever before. Technology and machinery improved rapidly enabling vast swathes to be chopped in a day. In recent years even our obsession with DIY has played a negative role. We have all been encouraged, by TV, to get on the property ladder and increase the value of our homes by sticking in some window seating or radiator covers. Unless it states that they are from sustainable sources the materials we use, such as MDF and Plywood, all come from tropical forests.
Once upon a time we could blame deforestation on the cattle ranches using slash and burn to produce cheap beef for the rapidly appearing fast food outlets. Now it is soya and palm oil production that are reducing the forests of Indonesia and S.America to barren hillsides unfit to graze or grow anything on, never mind regenerating what was lost. Given the current economic climate many people will be turning to cheap processed foods. The majority of these contain soya and/or palm oil, check your labels, you’ll be surprised. Hopefully we can stem the tide of destruction and although we may not be able to reverse it, we can start creating the havens that can provide shelter for the wildlife refugees, the displaced and the homeless.
Anyway, I just had to get that of my chest, I’ll put the soapbox away! Seeing the plight of the Gibbons in Thailand first hand has reminded me why I make little changes in my lifestyle and consumer choices. Little changes that, on their own, are insignificant but once part of a collective whole do make a difference.
So, back to Highland Farm! Here is one of those wildlife refugee shelters that is providing a home, not just for primates but for insects, frogs, birds, snakes and numerous other beasties. A lot of time, energy and even lives have gone into creating it.
This is what makes it so upsetting when people just come and take from it. Each tree in this place has been planted for a reason. Each time the fence is cut someone has to fix it and time and resources are taken from the residents here. I could see how distressing this is to Pharanee and Nok (the manageress, who also lives here) so we agreed that work should start on it right away. Nok has redesigned the fence as a wall which will have a 2 foot gap underneath at the point where the flooding occurs, the rest of the wall will be 1.8m tall which although that is scale-able you cannot just cut it.
On the way back we bumped into one of the workers who was strimming around the paths and the bits of fence to be replaced. He had been lucky to have spotted the bee’s nest before he strimmed the reeds supporting it. The nest is around 3 ft wide by 2ft high and very busy. There would be nowhere nearby where a nest this size could, or would be allowed to, exist. Bee populations around the world are in decline. Bee’s are the main
Pollinator of our crops. There is global crop failure and a shortage of food. Surely this is a sign that we need more havens like this.
Keri ;o)

1st day at Highland Farm

DAY 1.
The working day starts here at 7.30am but I am awake by 6, there is an amazing sunrise out my back window and I take advantage of the shower and coffee. At around 7 the noise begins, softly and slowly at first then gradually building until the whole area is filled with the morning song of the Gibbons.
We all meet at the food prep. area and start chopping. The food is prepared for the 45 Gibbons and 6 macaques that live here. There is a multitude of weird and wonderful vegetables and fruits and it is all lovingly washed and chopped. The Thai staff, there are 7, are all very friendly and we are taught to say the general hello (also goodbye), which is sawat dii, followed by khrap (it actually does sound like it is spelt!) if you are a man and kha if you’re a woman.
We follow them around and watch the Gibbons being fed. Then after a quick tidy up we go for breakfast out on Pharanee’s terrace. Pharanee was planning to show me around the land today but it is a day of public mourning in Thailand. The Kings sister died earlier this year and today is the day of her cremation. There has been a lot of preparation for this day and Pharanee is off to a local town to pay her respects. The Thai Royal family are held in the highest regard by everyone.
So, I spend the day walking around and introducing myself to the Gibbons and monkeys and taking photos of the huge spiders dotted around. I get an idea that I should go and cut a few bits of bamboo to make some enrichment for the enclosures. Gibbons are incredibly agile and move through the trees by brachiating, basically arm over arm. They have very long fingers and non-opposable thumbs to enable them to do this. Given a good space to do this they can reach speed of up to 35mph! They can then turn very easily as their wrists have ball and socket joints so can twist round 180 degrees. My plan is to make a big set of monkey bars for them. I also thought I would try and make some bamboo food puzzles for the monkeys, this helps to keep their minds active. So, having heard there was lots of bamboo growing on the land, I asked Stephanie to show me where they were. On the way she points out an area where a giant python lives then when we get to the bamboo there is loads so I run off and get a saw. When I get back I realize that there is a small but very yellow and black spider in its web between the bits I was going to cut down, I also spot what is either an ant or bees nest up in the bamboo! For once common sense prevails and I decide to leave it until tomorrow so maybe Pharanee can tell me what is actually dangerous or not. It is after all my first day, and it wouldn’t be very good if I was to be bitten by an unknown spider, chased by bees and run into a python on the way!
I spend the rest of the day unpacking, reading about the Gibbons of Khao Yai (a National park in Thailand) and chatting to Peter and Siebrecht.
Keri ;o)

Journey to Highland Farm.

So, after a good night’s sleep, and a long soak in a hot bath, I caught my bus to Mae Sot at 9am. Mae Sot is about half way up through Thailand towards the Western border with Burma/Myanmar. I was surprised at just how flat the interior of Thailand is, miles and miles of agricultural land broken up by the occasional random hill in the distance. Due to the impact of agriculture and deforestation for hardwoods and firewood, Thailand now has less than 15% of its primary tropical forest left. As you can imagine, this leaves very little space for the amazing wildlife found here. Tigers used to be in abundance, Asian Elephants were everywhere and of course the Gibbons could be found going about their business.
Towards the end of my journey I had nodded off, I was stirred by the bus changing gears and we seemed to be going very slowly uphill. On drawing back the curtain I realized that we were heading up into mountains surrounded by Forest. The views were spectacular and the roads were winding. After an hour or so we descended into the wild frontier town of Mae Sot. As it is only 6km from the border with Burma it is filled with a rich mix of Burmese and Thai people but also members of the local hill-tribes, the Karen and the Hmong. The hill-tribes people live in the mountains between Burma and Thailand but they do not recognise the border. This can lead to conflict with both governments and so Mae Sot has a big population of Farang (foreigners) working for western NGO’s assisting the refugees that arrive here. This lead me to one of the strangest sights so far; a giant Tescos!!!
I arrived at the bus station around 5.30pm just as the sun was going down into Burma/Myanmar. I was met by Pharanee Deters, the owner of Highland Farm Gibbon sanctuary. She was accompanied by 2 Dutch guests (Peter and Siebrecht) who had just arrived for a few days and Stephanie, a volunteer at the sanctuary. Pharanee took us all into the town and bought us dinner at a place with a surprisingly varied menu. It was a mix of Thai, American, English, Italian and even Mexican. I had a go at the Tofu steak, which was actually much more tasty than it sounds.
Pharanee is originally from Thailand but she had lived in the States for many years. This was where she met her husband Bill in 1974. Upon his retirement, in 1991, they bought up 35 acres of barren land near Mae Sot. They started to build a house from scratch and replant the land with trees and a few crops. It was during these early days that they came across their first Gibbon in need of help.
Unfortunately certain hill-tribes in this area do actually hunt Gibbons for their meat. One day a man called to their, as yet unfinished, door and offered them a baby Gibbon for sale. They were reluctant to pay money as this only encourages the trade but he was threatening to sell it to a bar in Bangkok. There it would have been doomed to live a short life chained to a bar and made to smoke and drink for the amusement of the customers. In the end they agreed to pay 500 Baht for it, around $15 at today’s exchange rate. This was the last time they ever paid for a Gibbon. They named the young baby Chester. It is difficult to tell the sex of a baby Gibbon and so he later became Miss Chester. This was the beginning of the sanctuary; abused and mistreated Gibbons started arriving from all over Thailand. They were having to build homes for the Gibbons even before they had finished work on their own!
Sadly, in 2002, Bill along with 4 other people was murdered by a disgruntled ex-employee who had broken in to rob the house. Pharanee was away in Bangkok at the time and on her return was faced with an awful decision. Move away for her own well being or stay for the Gibbons and carry on their dream. She chose the hardest option and stayed.



So, after dinner we headed up highway 105 towards Highland Farm and once again I arrived at my destination in the dark. Pharanee showed me to my room, which I was amazed at. It is a long room above the food preparation area, en suite with a flushing toilet and a hot shower! There is also a fridge and my own coffee making area. All luxuries that I would not have expected but I suppose I will just have to get used to them! It is also much cooler here then at the WFFT rescue centre; we are around 860m above sea level, so I sleep soundly.
Keri ;o)

1st few days.

Id like to qpologise first for a lack of punctuation and some random spelling mistakes, I'm using a computer in a hotel in Bangkok and it seems to have a different layout and a mind of it's own!
So, I arrived in Thailand on Sunday night and was picked up and taken 160km South to the wildlife rescue centre run by the wildlife friends of Thailand (WFFT). I always enjoy arriving somewhere in the dark as you never know what to expect in the morning. I slept like a log despite the electronic whining of a cicada right outside my window! I was then woke up by an altogether different and much more beautiful sound. The morning duets of 87 Gibbons! Whoops and hoots and rising crescendos. For those of you that don't know, Gibbons are monogamous. To reinforce the bond between a couple, and to announce their territory, they sing duets in the morning and evening (sometimes, when the mood takes them, during the day as well). The male and female have a different alternate part in the song and they speed up and slow down together.
The centre was set up and is run by Edwin Wiek. Edwin has done an amazing job in a short space of time, the centre was only started in 2001. There are around 350 rescued animals at the centre, including the gibbons (not monkeys but lesser apes), around 120 monkeys (5 species of Macaque and some Languars), lorises, bears, civets, eagles, hornbills, 6 elephants, a crocodile and a tiger (a beautiful chap called miaow with a neurological disorder that makes him look permanantly drunk)! I've actually left out more animals than are in that list but you get the idea! The centre is also replanting a large area of forest and bringing in local schoolkids to do it. This is a small part of the educational work that the centre does.
Many of the animals there are victims of the pet trade and the entertainment industry. In South America and Africa many pet monkeys are a byproduct of the bushmeat trade, the babies that survive when their mothers are hunted. Here in Thailand the Gibbons and monkeys are captured not for meat but entertainment! As I mentioned earlier, Gibbons practice monogamy. The adult couple will usually be accompanied by 3 or 4 of their kids. Once the kids reach adolescence, between 5 and 7, they move out of the group to find their own partner. The hunters don't want the adults as they can be exceptionally dangerous. The babies, unfortunately, are very cute and clingy. Rather than sell them on for money there is a lucrative industry in exploiting unwitting tourists. In many of Thailands beach resorts you will come across people charging for photos with a Gibbon. Although this is illegal, the Govenment struggles to enforce it. Around 3000 Gibbons are killed in Thailand every year. Education is the key to preventing this travesty, educating the tourists not to pose for the photos (I'm sure most people would be disgusted to learn that a family of 4 or 5 was wiped out for their little holiday photo that gracefully adorns their mantlepiece!) and educating the next generation that preserving their wildlife and their habitats is worthwhile and can benefit us all.

I'm traveling up to Mae Sot tomorrow and heading to Highland Farm, I'll keep you posted. Unfortunately I have taken around 600 photos but most of them are in RAW format, I'll have to convert them somehow, but I did take a few in standard JPEG so I'll try and upload them for your viewing pleasure. And amazingly my keyboard seemed to sort itself owut!
Take care,
Keri ;o)