Elizabeth-with-Shirley

Elizabeth was born at a tourist attraction in Florida in June 1984. Her gibbon family was living on an island in the Silver River and jungle cruise boats would pass by daily. One day, a cruise boat guide noticed a baby gibbon being neglected. Staff removed her from the island and, for a time, staff members hand-raised Elizabeth. When the management at Silver Springs decided that hand-raising a gibbon was too time-consuming, baby Elizabeth was sent to IPPL in 1985. Some 28 years later, her parents, brother, and sister joined her at IPPL.

We hand-raised Elizabeth until she reached adolescence. When she reached maturity, we paired her with Ahimsa. Like a few other gibbons that have been hand-raised, Elizabeth acquired a thumb-sucking habit that continued her entire life. Elizabeth was a bit of a gardener. When a new flower bed is planted close to her enclosure, she will reach her long arms out of the enclosure to pull up and eat the flowers and leaves!

From the time she arrived as a frail little gibbon, we watched her grow into a healthy adult with her own unique personality. Elizabeth was at IPPL for 36 years. Sadly, she died on January 20, 2021. Elizabeth left us with many special memories, and she will always have a special place in our hearts.