Name: Courtney (we named her after a young friend of Shirley’s who showed a great interest in primates)     ADOPT ME!
Sex: Female
Born: January 10, 2002
Favorite food: Grapes—and everything!
Favorite activity: Having her toes and ears kissed by her special friends.

Courtney was a “surprise baby” born at IPPL’s Headquarters Sanctuary to Maui and Michelle. Her mommy never “showed” that she was pregnant, and her daddy had supposedly been vasectomized, so Courtney was really a double-surprise. (We do not deliberately breed our gibbons, since any offspring would have no chance of being returned to the wild, so we later had Maui re-done!)

Sadly, Courtney was attacked by her own mother when she was just 12 days old. We later realized that her mother was probably not producing enough milk and was getting upset by her baby’s painful attempts to suckle. Thanks to IPPL’s wonderful veterinarian, Courtney survived major surgery to repair her shattered left leg.

Because she could not be returned to her mother, she was hand-raised by IPPL staff, special night-nannies, and volunteers for over six years. Many caregivers took turns feeding her, playing with her, and taking her for walks around the sanctuary grounds. Always curious and energetic, she was a real handful.

Since May 2009, Courtney has been paired with a former lab gibbon by the name of Whoop-Whoop. His mild-mannered personality is a good match for her wild ways: he always lets her have first dibs at their lunch pail.

Courtney has made an amazing recovery since the difficult months of her early life. She now runs, swings, and climbs so well you would never guess how badly she had been injured.

You can read more about Courtney over the years in our newsletter archives:

• Courtney Gibbon is doing well (2002)
• Good-bye to Gale Martin, Courtney’s nanny (2004)
• One of IPPL’s youngest gibbons (2004)
• Meet IPPL’s Courtney! (2008)
• Member Profile: Karen McCormick–Long-time IPPL volunteer looks back on “bringing up baby” (2008)
• News from IPPL’s Headquarters Sanctuary: Our gibbon “newlyweds” (2009)