Situated in the Andaman Sea, Southern Thailand, Phuket is a world-class dive destination with countless pristine sites, spectacular scenery, stunning tropical sunsets and warm blue sea. This island provides an unbeatable combination of perfect silky soft white palm-lined beaches, superb hospitality and great activities, from just lazing on the beach or beside the pool to more active activities in the nearby Wildlife Reserves. The reserves situated in Phukets interior are worth exploring for their vivid patchwork of plantations and rice paddies, crowned by the island’s last rainforest in Khao Phra Thaw Royal Wildlife Reserve. Here, rainy season hikes provide the best views of Ton Sai and Bang Pae waterfalls, with possible sightings of resident wildlife such as flying foxes and slow loris. This wildlife reserve is also conducting research work in the field of gibbon rehabilitation programs.
The Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (GRP) was set up in 1992. In 1994 the program began conjunctive operations with the Wild Animal Rescue Foundation of Thailand (WARF), now the project is a research division of WARF. The rehabilitation site is in Khao Pra Theaw Non-Hunting Area at the Bang Pae Waterfall, Phuket, Thailand.The objective of the project is to repopulate the last remaining rainforest in Phuket-Khao Pra Theaw Non-Hunting Area (National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department) with gibbons that have been held in captivity for tourist promotional purposes.
The work to rehabilitate the gibbons involves three different stages. These are a quarantine stage, a rehabilitation stage and a reintroduction stage.
Stage 1: Quarantine of the Phuket Gibbons - When gibbons first arrive, they are given a full medical examination, deworming, tuberculosis test and blood test. Blood samples are taken to check for diseases such as Herpes simplex virus, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and HIV.
Stage 2: Rehabilitation Procedures for Gibbons in Phuket- Before the gibbons are ready for reintroduction they are put through a long rehabilitation program. This involves a series of environments which encourage their natural behaviours and provide them with the opportunity to practice brachiating and eating natural foods, and ensures maximum contact with other gibbons and minimum contact with humans.
Stage 3: Reintroduction of Gibbons to their Natural Habitat in the Wild- The acclimatisation cage is situated within a system of trails arranged in a grid to track their location after release. It is positioned at least 20 m above the rainforest floor to acclimate the family to the upper canopy where they naturally occur in the wild. They are monitored here for at least ten days; if the family is exhibiting natural behaviour, the cage door will be opened and the gibbons are allowed to move freely.
Education and Conservation methods for the Gibbons
For the rehabilitation project to continue to be successful in saving gibbons, the dedicated staff and volunteers of the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project use methods of education and conservation. Local people are educated along with tourists about the importance of conserving these animals and their habitat. The project providers stress the importance of not supporting business or tourism that may profit from exploiting the gibbons.
Location of the Gibbon Rehabilitation Centre in Phuket, Thailand
The centre situated in Khao Phra Thaw Royal Wildlife Reserve can be visited and people are able to view gibbons from viewing platforms. Visitors are also able to adopt a gibbon for a fee, the fee pays for the care of one gibbon for one year and the program includes updates on the progress of the adopted gibbon. The centre opens daily 9am to 4pm and entry is free.
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