DERGAON, July 27 - The 132-year-long separation of hoolock gibbons at the Hoolock Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary at Hoolangapar, Mariani in Jorhat district has come to an end, with a natural canopy bridge.
Thirty-two families of the hoolock gibbon, a very rare species of apes, in the sanctuary had to separate as a railway track was constructed through the sanctuary by the North Frontier Railway (NFR) way back in 1887, which left the sanctuary divided into compartment I and II.
As a result of this separation, gibbons from either compartment could not come into contact with other members of different families, since gibbons never come down from the trees.
On the other hand, gibbons of the same species or families also never mate for reproduction. Due to this, the number of gibbons were constantly dwindling.
The sanctuary is the habitat for two rare species namely � western hoolock gibbon (Hoolock hoolock) and the eastern hoolock gibbon (Hoolock leuconydes). Domestic and foreign tourists come in hordes to the sanctuary to have a look at them.
The Forest department and the NFR had constructed an iron bridge between the two parts of the sanctuary so that the apes could move to and fro at a cost of Rs 5 lakh but not a single gibbon used the bridge.
Finally, understanding the importance of a holistic approach of conservation, the Hoolock gibbon conservation programme in the Hoolock Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary was initiated by environmental organisation Aaranyak in 2004-2006 in collaboration with the Jorhat Forest Division under the leadership of Dr Dilip Chetry of Aaranyak, with the support from the US Fish Wildlife Service (Great Ape Conservation Fund).
With plantations across the railway track, the organisation wanted to grow a natural canopy bridge for the gibbons to pass by. The canopy bridge has now materialised at the place 15 years after the programme began.
Now, the stakeholders hope that the canopy bridge will be used by the gibbons and reproduction between the gibbons will start once again in the sanctuary.
�We had to wait for 13 years to get the canopy bridge, which was the most important step in the hoolock gibbon conservation programme�, Dr Dilip Chetry said.