50 years ago, this California sanctuary began saving some of the world’s rarest gibbons

Gibbon Conservation Center director Gabi Skollar feeds one of the little apes Every morning, as dawn breaks over the dry hills north of Los Angeles, a chorus of sirens, deep hoots and high-pitched calls echoes across the Santa Clarita Valley. The sounds come from the Gibbon Conservation Center, a sanctuary that has spent half a century protecting some of the world’s most endangered primates. Founded in 1976, the sanctuary now houses around 40 gibbons belonging to five species, according to The Independent. Known for their complex vocal duets, these small apes are native to the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. Their numbers in the wild have fallen sharply because of deforestation, habitat loss and the illegal pet trade. For some of the species at the centre, fewer than 2,000 animals remain in the wild. The sanctuary was founded by the late Alan Mootnick, a self-taught primatologist who ran a home painting and remodelling business. Mootnick got his first gibbon, Spanky, in 1976 after responding to a newspaper advert. Although he had no formal degree in biology, he bought the 10-acre property in 1980 using money from his business and gradually turned it into a major centre for ...