Name: Ahimsa (a Sanskrit name meaning “non-violence towards all living things”)
Sex: Male
Born: November 23, 1985
Favorite food: Dates—which he adores and will sometimes swallow WHOLE; fortunately for him, we make sure they’re pitted!
Favorite activity: Ambushing our caretakers in the grapevines. 

Ahimsa is the first-born child of IPPL’s first rescued lab gibbon, Arun Rangsi. We no longer allow our animals to breed (since there is unfortunately no chance of their offspring returning to the wild), but back in the 1980s it seemed like a kind act to allow our Arun Rangsi to have a chance at the normal family life that was denied to him in the laboratory where he was born. Ahimsa’s mother, Shanti, is also an ex-lab gibbon.

 As it turned out, Ahimsa’s mom and dad turned out to be excellent gibbon parents. Shanti carried her little baby around everywhere, but she was very trusting about allowing her human friends to have a look at her tiny son. Our senior animal caregiver Donetta even remembers feeding him peeled grapes when he was clinging to his mother. And Arun Rangsi was great about playing with Ahimsa as the little fellow grew older.

 When Ahimsa was grown up, he was paired with Elizabeth, who came to IPPL from a tourist attraction. Unfortunately for Donetta, Elizabeth never liked her and often interferes with Donetta’s attempts to visit with her old friend. He is still playful, though, and will gently bat at his caregivers’ hands when they come to take away the empty lunch bucket.

 Do you know anyone who thinks that “food tastes better when it’s from someone else’s plate”? Ahimsa and Elizabeth feel that way! They have an outdoor enclosure that is accessed by an aerial mesh runway that is covered by grapevines. Although they are perfectly capable of picking their own grapes, if they see our staff out harvesting they’ll stretch out their hands to beg for grapes picked by humans instead.