The "Texas Twelve" Gibbons Come to IPPL!
September 2007
On 31 March 2007, 12 white-handedgibbons arrived at IPPL's Headquarters sanctuary in Summerville, South Carolina. They came to IPPL from a troubled sanctuary in San Antonio, Texas, known as Primarily Primates, Inc. (PPI). This brings the number of gibbons at IPPL to 38.
After years of complaints against the sanctuary, PPI was placed under receivership following a petition submitted on 13 October 2006 by Gregg Abbott, Attorney General of Texas. The court selected Lee Theisen-Watt, a wildlife rehabilitator from Texas, to serve as receiver—a court-appointed manager for the sanctuary's affairs.
The grounds for the suit against PPI included alleged negligent animal care (including "cruel and overcrowded" housing, inadequate veterinary care, and inappropriate diet) and mismanagement of donors' funds. The complaint itself was 34 pages long, supplemented by multiple attachments. Ms. Watt decided to help relieve the overcrowding by finding more suitable homes for over 200 of the morethan- 700 animals that the owners of PPI had acquired over the years. She asked IPPL to give a home to 12 PPI gibbons, and IPPL agreed.
Concerns about Primarily Primates
There was concern about the conditions under which the gibbons were living at PPI. Gibbons are tropical rainforest apes and in nature inhabit the tallest treetops. In Texas, the 12 gibbons had access to outdoor cages that were long but only about eight feet high. This meant that any time the gibbons wanted to brachiate (their natural arm-swinging style of locomotion)
from the underside of their cage tops, they would come quite close to the ground. In addition, there were no runways or other additions to these cages where sick animals could be captured and isolated if medical care were needed.
In contrast, IPPL's outdoor enclosures are 15 to 20 feet tall and 40 or 50 feet long, and many have jutting observation towers that extend the gibbons' vertical space even further. Our enclosures are connected by aerial runways made of strong galvanized wire that extend the gibbons' usable space even more; these runways are fitted with doors at regular intervals, such that segments of each tunnel can be blocked off as needed, a feature that comes in handy when a gibbon must be confined for medical or other care.
Each outdoor cage in Texas was attached to a cinderblock night house, but these small, windowless structures would not have been very inviting for the gibbons. PPI's night houses had no space for these normally highly active animals to swing and play. The gibbons had to enter these inside units by crawling through a ground-level entryway covered by a hard rubber flap—an unnatural act for gibbons, who are almost never found at ground level in the wild: they only go to ground to cross from one forest patch to another.
Gibbons, as native tropical animals, need heat. No gibbon in nature gets exposed to ice and snow. Like Summerville, San Antonio has cold spells, and it is essential to protect these tropical animals from the misery of feeling cold and suffering the potential perils of frostbite. During a storm in Texas last winter, a number of the gibbons remained outdoors in the
ice and snow rather than go inside their unwelcoming indoor quarters. At IPPL, there are spacious, heated gibbon houses, where the little apes can be comfortable and active even on cold days.
Finally, IPPL was concerned about the gibbons' access to water at PPI. Many animal facilities (including IPPL's and PPI's) use "lixit" nozzles to ensure a supply of clean water whenever an animal nudges the watering mechanism. However, the lixits in Texas were positioned only about 12 to 18 inches above ground level and were installed outdoors. IPPL's lixit waterers are placed indoors and high off the ground—gibbons at IPPL are not forced to come to ground level whenever they're thirsty. In addition, there is no need to worry about IPPL's indoor lixits freezing up during a cold snap.
For these reasons and more, everyone at IPPL was happy to welcome the "Texas Twelve" to IPPL's Headquarters sanctuary. But the gibbons had a long journey to make first.
The long trip from Texas
IPPL is nervous about sending animals by plane. Far too many things can and do go wrong. San Antonio is 1,450 miles from Summerville, South Carolina, but instead of flying the gibbons in, IPPL arranged to have two of its animal caregivers, Hardy and Danielle, fly one-way to San Antonio, accompanied by long-time IPPL volunteer Rebecca. The PPI receiver, Ms. Watt, also located a qualified out-of-town primate veterinarian and experienced local animal handler to help out.
The IPPL team flew down on Wednesday, 28 March. They picked up a special rented truck that had been reserved (only one company rents air-conditioned trucks with a pass-through doorway between the driver and cargo compartments and with air flow in both front and rear). The team purchased carrying cages (sky kennels), assembled them, and tagged each cage with an animal's name, sex, and other characteristics, so there could be no mix-ups. The IPPL team also spent most of Thursday getting to know the Texas gibbons, to help make the animals feel comfortable. There were three family groups (two pairs and a mother, father, and child). In addition, there were five singletons, four of them male and one of them female.
On Friday, the excellent team, including the receiver and her staff, worked efficiently throughout the day to catch the gibbons. Each animal was administered a TB test (all were TB-free when the tests were read by our own vet three days later), and all were vaccinated for tetanus. Blood was drawn from each animal and sent for laboratory analysis. The gibbons were
observed till they had fully recovered from the low dose of tranquilizer.
By 6:30 Friday evening, the truck was on the road to South Carolina. An air mattress had been placed between the rows of crates (six on each side) so that one person could drive, one person could navigate (and keep the driver awake), and the person in the back could observe the gibbons, offer food, and take an occasional nap. No overnight stops were made. The team took only brief rest breaks. They were in constant touch with IPPL Headquarters on cell phones.
The gibbons arrive at IPPL
Around 7 p.m. on Saturday, 31 March, the truck came rolling down IPPL's long tree-lined driveway. All of IPPL's animal caregivers were there to welcome the newcomers. No one wanted the gibbons to stay in their shipping crates one minute longer than necessary. All 12 were released by the animal care team into their spacious new indoor units in less than an hour. They were fed, and all ate well. Then they started to explore their indoor houses and pick sleeping areas. The staff stayed late to monitor the newcomers.
Fortunately, IPPL had just finished building a brand-new, spacious fourunit gibbon house with long runways connecting to outdoor enclosures. It's called Gibbon House 7, and it is now the home of three incoming families and also one of IPPL's best-behaved pairs, E.T. and Donny, who indeed served as "mentors" to the newbies. When E.T. and Donny came indoors at night on schedule, the other families did the same thing!
The first gibbons to be released from their shipping kennels were the family of three: these consisted of Ziggy, a blonde adult male, his mate, Erin, a black female who had lost half her lower right leg at a zoo where she formerly lived, and their gorgeous blonde daughter, whose crate was tagged as "Baby." The family immediately started to explore their new surroundings and ate their dinner. They had no trouble locating their lixit waterers high on the front of their indoor sleeping quarters.
Next to be released were two gibbons whose crates were marked "No Name 1" and "No Name 2." They are now named Ann and David. Next door, Baba and his mate Uma were released into a third unit. Then each of the five singletons was released into his or her individual unit in other gibbon houses around the sanctuary, and the caregivers who had made the long trip left for a well-earned rest. Rebecca stayed with us for a week to provide extra help with animal care.
However, the rented truck had to be returned to San Antonio, since trucks with pass-through doors are not available for one-way rentals, and there was no way for IPPL to negotiate an alternative to that rental agreement. There had to be a way to get that truck back to Texas! On Sunday, the morning after the gibbons' arrival, IPPL's part-time animal caregiver Noreen
came to work as usual, but as soon as she learned of the situation with the truck, she offered herself and her friend Benny as drivers to take the vehicle back right away, to save IPPL extended rental costs. She went home to collect a few belongings, and within half an hour Noreen, Benny, and the truck were on the road back west. They flew home on Monday, so they didn't even get to do any sight-seeing in San Antonio!
Meet the "Texas Twelve"
The "Texas Twelve" are doing well in their new "incarnation" as South Carolina gibbons. Unfortunately, information about their background is incomplete, since very few of them came with any history or medical files, and much of the existing documentation is many years old. But they are still interesting, beautiful, and unique animals.
Erin, Ziggy, and little Cathy
Erin is a black gibbon who used to reside at Hattiesburg Zoo, Mississippi. While living at the zoo, she lost her right foot and lower half of her right leg after receiving "multiple lacerations," apparently the result of being severely bitten by another gibbon. She reached PPI in the mid-1990s. Erin lives with her mate, a blonde male named Ziggy, and their daughter, who arrived as "Baby." Baby is now around four years old, and we call her "Cathy." She has a lovely honeyblonde coat and is quite a "brat;" she even steals food from her parents! They have all gotten familiar with IPPL's staff, so that even relatively shy Erin accepts food from the animal caregivers now. At first the family seemed rather dysfunctional, and family
members did not relate much to each other. Now the trio spends a lot of time in the high turret mounted on the top of their outdoor enclosure. From their vantage point, they can observe all the activity in the nearby woods. They like to play in the water from the sprinklers used on the new plantings all around Gibbon House 7. Cathy is even interacting more with her dad—she sleeps next to him at night.
Baba ("Scrappy") and Uma
Baba and Uma have lived together for many years. IPPL volunteer Rebecca has a special fondness for Baba and gave him the nickname "Scrappy." The two gibbons were kept as pets by a man in Illinois who had reportedly bought them from an animal dealer in Florida. Wildlife authorities confiscated the animals in March 1993 and sent them to a zoo in Illinois, which sent them to PPI in April 1993. Scrappy has badly stained teeth. He is very gentle with most people, and whenever an animal care staff member enters the gibbon house, Scrappy runs inside to get attention. Uma tolerates Scrappy's fraternization with human friends most of the time! He is a little submissive to Uma on occasion, but is now standing up for himself more. Scrappy and Uma spend a lot of time indoors, especially when the air-conditioner is running. Scrappy loves to drink water from the hose as his unit is being cleaned, while Uma likes to run her arm under the stream of water and licks it off her fur.
David and Ann
The gibbons now known as David and Ann were not accompanied by any documents and were identified only as "No Name 1" and "No Name 2." Both are a lovely honey-gold color. David was extremely thin when he arrived, but he has put on some weight. Ann used to get more than her fair share of the food, but IPPL caregivers have made sure David gets enough. Now David has gained in strength and he won't let Ann get "first dibs" all the time—in fact, he is often first at the food bowl. Bananas are their favorite food. They have become closer and they love to play together in their turret. Ann likes to sit out in the rain, and this helps keep her coat soft and shiny.
Gibby
Gibby was extremely skinny on arrival at IPPL. He used to live at a university in New York State before being sent to Texas. Rebecca had first met him during her Texas visit in December 2006, and he looked very thin then. IPPL staff handfed him for his first few days at IPPL. He has gained some weight and is extremely friendly with his preferred caregivers (and with Shirley). He sings a great deal. During the hot days of the South Carolina summer, Gibby goes out to play in the morning and comes indoors for an afternoon siesta!
Whoop-Whoop
Whoop-Whoop is a beige male gibbon with several toes twisted out of place and a missing right thumb. Sadly, he arrived without a companion—except for his soft little green toy "alien" that he refused to be parted from. IPPL staff and Whoop-Whoop's friends have since provided him with a whole array of additional "greenies," often cloth hand-puppets, including beavers, raccoons, frogs, and even an "Elmo." This enables the staff to wash them regularly—a good thing, since they get a lot of use. He likes to turn his greenies inside-out: if a caregiver turns it right-side out, he will quickly turn it inside-out again! He also likes to toss them in the air and chase them. He's not keen on his morning vegetables, but loves his afternoon fruit and slices of raisin bread. He is very gentle and has a sweet face.
Last June a local reporter wanted to write a story about unusual hurricane forecasts, since IPPL Headquarters is located in a hurricane zone. He wanted forecasts of the number of named hurricanes this year, the number of severe hurricanes, and the number that would make East Coast landfall. He asked if a gibbon would help. IPPL never wants gibbons to "perform," but Whoop-Whoop's insatiable appetite for bananas is well known. So Whoop-Whoop was offered a basket of bananas, each numbered with a non-toxic marker. Whoopie picked Banana 12 for the total number of hurricanes and Banana 5 for the number of major hurricanes. When asked how many would make landfall, he grabbed his greenie and hid behind a post! The Post and Courier took an online public opinion poll as to whether Whoop-Whoop, a woman trance medium, a darts player, a hurricane expert, or the reporter himself had made the best estimates. Whoopie won by a large majority!
Chloe
Chloe is an elderly female gibbon who used to live with a human family. Unfortunately, her canine teeth were extracted during her days as a pet, but this does not interfere with her food consumption—she is always hungry! She loves greens and vegetables, especially celery. Sweet potatoes and peaches are other favorites. On arrival, she had chronic diarrhea, which has now disappeared. Chloe thinks ahead and stores leftover food on her sleeping shelf, maybe for a midnight feast! Chloe likes to spend a lot of time indoors, where she swings round and round the poles, singing all the time. Chloe likes to put her arms out and hug favorite staff members. Rebecca recalls, "When I met Chloe in Texas, she immediately hugged me and would
not let go! She still loves hugs from me, although she is particular about who she likes. Blackie fell for Chloe on the pot." Blackie is a veteran lab gibbon who has lived at IPPL since 1984. He and Chloe live alongside each other.
Gus
Gus is a handsome beige-colored gibbon. He was reportedly born in Thailand. He's the "dentist" of the group. He's really curious about people's teeth and loves to peer into their mouths. He has access to a long runway leading from his living area over to the IPPL offi ce building and likes to come as close to the offi ce as possible for visits. Jade and Palu-Palu, two gibbons from Maui Zoo, have access to a runway from the other direction, so they can get within about eight feet of Gus. Palu-Palu has always loved coming down the runway to watch the offi ce staff working, but now Jade comes down more often, too. However, she still has little interest in the offi ce staff—instead, she seems to have developed a soft spot for Gus! She calls to him even when he's far away, and he hurries down the runway for a visit and conversation. Jade even jumps right over Palu-Palu to be closer to Gus! Fortunately Palu-Palu doesn't seem to be jealous at all.
Gus loves the days when our caregiver Hardy does the "night run," the time at which all the gibbons are brought into their indoor sleeping quarters and fed their dinner. Hardy comments, "He usually meets me at the entrance to his house with a mischievous look on his face, only to let out a ‘whoop' and run all the way back down his tube to the office, making
little whoops the entire way—which I'm sure translates into ‘You can't catch me!'" Once he sees the dinner basket, though, he goes inside!
José-Marie
José-Marie is the wildest of the Texas gibbons. This striking black male likes Hardy, too, although he is inclined to grab at people (and even Hardy, now and then). He loves to torment our animal caregivers by grabbing the hose from them when they are cleaning his area. José-Marie's canine teeth were extracted, probably during the time he spent as a pet. As he has settled down, he has become less aggressive. He loves his high tower, from where he can see the whole sanctuary. He climbs up there and sings "This Land is My Land!" He lives alongside a fruiting fig tree and reaches out to pick figs as they ripen, but his favorite food is probably watermelon: he eats the luscious sweet fruit and then proceeds to eat the rind, as well.
Ongoing litigation
Many things have happened since the gibbons' arrival. On 25 April 2007, the Texas Attorney General suddenly settled the case and ended the receivership, returning control of PPI to a board of directors that included several of the same individuals who had run it before. However, IPPL believes that the Texas gibbons are happy here in their new home. Hopefully, they will never again have to endure ice and snow and what IPPL considers to be unsuitable housing for gibbons. Therefore, IPPL has joined with Chimps, Inc. (which cares for two former PPI chimps named Emma and Jackson and has integrated them into a larger group at its Oregon sanctuary) and Ms. Marguerite Gordon (who takes care of a rescued steer from PPI at her facility in New Mexico) in a lawsuit seeking permanent care of the "Texas Twelve" gibbons.
Memories of an Eventful Trip
Rebecca Austin, IPPL Volunteer
Rebecca is a long-time IPPL volunteer who had visited Primarily Primates twice before going as part of the IPPL team to bring the gibbons to South Carolina. Here, she recalls that exciting road trip from San Antonio to Summerville:
Once on the truck and on the road, the gibbons were remarkably calm, as if they knew they were going to a better place. I spent a great deal of time "in the back" reassuring them and handing out treats like grapes, kiwi, and oranges. Each gibbon took the food that was offered. Most would come to the front of their kennel to get their treats. Ziggy and Cathy were exceptions. Each time I would offer a treat, all I saw was an arm quickly flying out from the depths of the kennel, retrieving the fruit. I am sure they thought it was funny—this woman wobbling all over trying to stand up in the back of a bumpy truck attempting to give them treats!
Chloe, Gibby, and Scrappy also wanted individual reassurance in the form of back scratches. The air mattress was located right behind the cab. José-Marie and Scrappy were in the two kennels closest to the mattress. Each time I tried (in vain) to lie down and get some rest, I would open my eyes to see José-Marie and Scrappy just staring at me. It was really cute.
None of us slept. We felt too much responsibility for the gibbons’ well-being to sleep — and in addition, the truck ride was bumpy! The gibbon’s ride was much smoother than ours, as their kennels were securely strapped down. When we arrived at IPPL, we all felt such a sense of accomplishment on the safe completion of our mission.
