Thirty may not seem old to the majority of us, but for primates at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, it’s ancient.
Jantan the white-handed gibbon turned 30 yesterday and according to keeper Caroline Magner, if the primates were in the wild, they would only survive for 20 years.
“They survive longer in captivity as there are no predators, like there are in the wild,” Ms Magner said.
Jantan has grown up with the female white-handed gibbon called Bacan, and the two were moved from Melbourne Zoo to Taronga Western Plains Zoo in 1982.
The primates were fed homemade banana cake and given a cuddly toy to entertain spectators.
Jantan was hand raised at the Melbourne Zoo. His mother went blind when he was young and could not look after him.
“He is very agile and territorial, (and) often gets really acrobatic when people are around,” Ms Magner said.
dani.volke@ruralpress.com
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