China's First Man-Breeded White-Gena Gibbon Celebrates BirthdayA family of white-gena gibbons at the city's zoo were treated to a sumptuous breakfast, which included bananas, apples, peanuts and eggs because their baby, China's first white-gena gibbon bred in captivity, is 2 years old Wednesday.The young white-gena gibbon looked very happy, it kept doing "physical jerks" inside its cage along with making faces at visitors. Over the past two years, it has grown from 200 grams to 2,200 grams, and its coat has changed from light yellow to black, just like their parents. The animal's parents are respectively 10 and 9 years old, and came to the zoo respectively in 1988 and 1992, a zoo source said. As an endangered species, the white-gena gibbon is at the top of the state's protection list. According to the latest figure, China has only about 80 animals in the wild and about 30 in zoos across the country. Experts at the zoo are now making plans to help breed the second white-gena gibbon baby and then share their experience with other zoos. |
People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/ |