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.
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)
1 comment:
Hi Keri,
Great blog! It was great to meet you and have an opportunity to discuss wildlife experiences over dinner (in restaurants!).
Heather
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