Â鶹Éç

Marak is a virgin island. With an untouched jungle interior and no pre-existing human population, it’s the perfect location for the Sumatran arm of the Kalaweit gibbon project. Marak now provides a safe home to around 45 Sumatran gibbons, and 100 siamangs.

The siamang is the largest ape in the gibbon family. Chanee knows much less about them than the other gibbons, so he’s nervous about his latest plans. He’s in Marak to see a very special family of siamangs. Several weeks ago this family of four was moved to an isolated enclosure on the far side of the island. The move gives the siamangs a chance to grow familiar with being in this new area of the forest, where in a few weeks time they will be released back into the wild.

This family - the father Tommy, mother Dewi, baby Desri and his big sister Suci – will be the first ever siamang family to be released in Marak. It's quite rare for a family with such a young infant to be released and Chanee would never take the risk for other gibbons. But they are taking the risk with these siamangs because the relationship inside the family is quite different. The father and sister are both taking care of the baby. So, if the female were to get upset or tired there'd be backup care available to the infant.

In the wild, leaves make up 70% of a siamang’s diet. The team have been supplementing the family’s usual diet of fruit with big bunches of leaves, to help prepare them for release. The family seem settled in their new environment, but Chanee really wants to know if they’ve started defending this territory as their own. Most siamangs in a new place are just scared of being attacked by other siamangs, so they stay quiet very long. If they don’t start to call the team won't take the risk to release them. But this family has started to vocalise so the signs indicate that this family of siamangs will soon be ready for release.