Ida, protector of Java gibbons

Ida, protector of Java gibbons

Theresia Sufa, Jakarta Post/Bogor

Theresia Ida Yuniati Mashur has a special life -- far away
from the hustle and pollution of the cities, raising her "family"
in a pristine forest on the side of a mountain. It sounds
romantic, and Ida says it is.

A veterinary surgeon and manager of the Java Gibbon Rescue and
Rehabilitation Center, located in uphill Sukabumi, Ida lives far
away from hectic urban life.

"I've fallen in love with the Java gibbons' physical beauty
and their unique natural tendency of monogamy," Ida says.

Born in Bandung on June 13, 1967, the fourth child of Aloysius
Wahyudi Mashur and M.B. Rosaeni has worked with the Java Owa, as
they are locally known, at the captive breeding center in
Nanggerang village in Sukabumi, West Java, since its
establishment in November 2002.

The graduate of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the
prestigious Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), was formerly
lecturing at her alumnae before working as veterinarian at the
Indonesian Safari Garden in Cisarua, Bogor. She them moved to the
Indonesian Gibbon Foundation in Denpasar, Bali, from 1997 to
2002.

The center for Java gibbon rehabilitation is a non-profit
agency jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Forestry,
Conservation International Indonesia, the Gibbon Foundation and
the University of Indonesia, with financial support from the
Silvery Gibbon Project (SGP-Perth) and the U.S.-based Margot
Marsh Foundation.

The center rehabilitates Java gibbons earlier kept as domestic
pets and aims to release them back into their original habitats.

In addition, it also promotes public awareness of and
participation in the conservation of these apes, while increasing
cooperation between government agencies, non-governmental
organizations, academic institutions and business circles.

At present, the center has five gibbons, comprising four of
Java species (Hylobates moloch) and one of the Ungko species
(Hylobates agilis) from Sumatra. Locals voluntarily gave up the
previously domesticated primates to the center.

"We appreciate those who have surrendered their gibbons to us
because no matter how much they love their pets, nature is the
best place for them," Ida says.

Java owa currently face extinction, with only around 2,000 to
4,000 left on Java Island mostly found in West Java forests.

They originally occupied a total area of 43,247 square
kilometers but poaching and land reclamation have reduced their
habitat to 6,000 square kilometers of protected zones in the
national parks of Ujung Kulon, Mt. Halimun, Mt. Gede-Pangrango,
the nature reserve of Mt. Simpang and also around Dieng.

The five primates at the rehabilitation center are named
Chimoy (14 years), Yuki (13), Jefri (6), Kis Kis (4) and the
Sumatra Ungko, Kidi (4), the first two being females. They are
all gorgeous, with thick long gray hair.

"Volunteers and officers at the Mt. Gede-Pangrango National
Park frequently refer to the gibbons as symbols of true love,"
Ida says. All owa, particularly Java gibbons, are naturally
monogamous and faithful to their mates.

"If we find five one-year-old baby gibbons on the market, it
means 10 gibbon pairs are dead.

"The little ones aged one to three are carried along by their
mothers, which have to be killed first to get the babies, with
the eventual death of their fathers from loneliness," she said.

As a rule, Ida says, hunters always seek newborns and often
then cut their canines, as in Jefri's case. This ensures the apes
cannot survive in the wild as they have no means to protect
themselves against attack.

Java gibbons have been protected since 1931 by the wildlife
protection regulation No.266, supported later by Law No.5/1990
and the Decree of the Minister of Forestry dated June 10, 1991,
with maximum imprisonment of five years and a maximum fine of Rp
100 million for those hunting or raising gibbons illegally.

"I hope our gibbons will return to the wild to find their
mates and get their own habitat areas. There is no difficulty in
caring for them here as the center is within easy reach of fruit
and vegetables," she says.

The single veterinarian, who calls the five gibbons her
"children", lives with the primates on the cool slope of Mt.
Pangrango about kilometers from the Mt. Gede-Pangrango National
Park.

With this family, Ida says she has found true love.