Tasmania Zoo has welcomed the arrival of a critically endangered northern white-cheeked gibbon baby.
The tiny infant was born to first-time parents Maka and Jin, making it the zoo’s third gibbon birth and the second in just a year.
The birth marks an important milestone for Australia’s conservation breeding program and forms part of wider efforts to protect them in case wild populations continue to decline.
The breeding success is particularly significant because of the parents’ genetics.
Maka was brought over from France two years ago to boost the Australian program, while American-born Jin had previously failed to breed during six years with another partner on the mainland.
In the wild, the species is facing tough odds, with fewer than 200 breeding pairs left across their native habitats in Laos and Vietnam.
Habitat loss and population fragmentation are pushing numbers even lower.
Tasmania Zoo now cares for seven of Australia’s 17 captive northern white-cheeked gibbons across two breeding pairs, giving it the largest primate collection of any zoo in the country.
At less than a month old, the baby still clings tightly to its mum while keepers keep a close eye on its progress.
For now, the little one remains nameless as it can take more than a year to determine gender, which is tricky while the baby stays hidden in mum’s arms.
All gibbon infants are born blonde, before developing their striking adult colouring at around six years of age.
