Debbie, a 30-year-old white-handed gibbon at Taipei Zoo, gave birth to her fourth infant on May 13, and her keepers have named the baby Bibo.
The keepers say that when they went to inspect the gibbon island at 8.30am that morning, Debbie still had an enlarged abdomen, but when they went back to the island a bit more than an hour later, they found that Debbie had given birth to Bibo in a secluded spot and was licking the infant. As Bibo held on to his mommy with both hands and sucked his mother’s milk, Debbie would lift Bibo, whose legs had no strength yet, and hold tightly on to him.
Bibo was preceded by an elder sister, Wendan, and two elder brothers, Wencheng and Peter Pan. At present, the whole family lives on the gibbon island. Bibo’s brothers and sister are very interested in Bibo and often approach to watch or reach out their hands to touch him. When Bibo is resting, his mommy Debbie folds her legs to hold and protect him while warily grasping a branch with one hand, ready to respond to any situation.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo
照片：台北市立動物園提供
White-handed gibbons born in the wild live to about 30 years old, while those raised in captivity may live for longer. They are a protected species that is close to extinction. They are distributed across Thailand, the Malayan Peninsula, northern Sumatra and in Burma and its border with China’s Yunnan Province. They are tree dwellers and can swing three meters at a time, but they cannot swim and are afraid of water. They form monogamous pairs and give birth to one infant at a time.
(Liberty Times, translated by Julian Clegg)
台北市立動物園將滿三十歲的白手長臂猿「黛比」五月十三日生下老四，保育員將寶寶取名為「比波」。
保育員說，當天早上八點半到長臂猿島查看時，「黛比」還大腹便便，隔一個多小時後再登島，發現「黛比」已在隱密處生下「比波」，並用舌頭舔舐著孩子。當「比波」雙手握住媽媽吸吮母乳時，「黛比」則會扶起著雙腳還沒有力氣的「比波」，把牠抱得緊緊的。
「比波」前面還有一個姊姊「文旦」、兩個哥哥「文成」、「彼得潘」，目前一家人都住在長臂猿島上。哥哥、姊姊對「比波」十分感興趣，常會靠過去觀看或伸手碰觸。而當「比波」休息時，媽媽「黛比」會將腳捲起來包覆著牠、保護牠，也會把一隻手機警的抓握在樹幹上，以便隨機應變。
野生的白手長臂猿壽命約三十歲，圈養的可更長，屬瀕臨絕種保育類，分佈在泰國、馬來半島、蘇門答臘北部、緬甸及中國雲南省邊界，為樹棲性，一次擺盪的距離可達三公尺，不會游泳，怕水，是一夫一妻制、一胎一仔。
(自由時報記者梁珮綺)
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