The #1 source for news about monkeys and apes

["carrie mclaren" <brooklynite282 AT gmail.com>]

Endangered gibbon dies at zoo:
Assiniboine Park Zoo loses admired senior resident
http://winnipegsun.com/News/Winnipeg/2007/12/07/4712882.html

A critically endangered animal has died at the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

Bobby-Jean, a grey or silvery gibbon native to Indonesia, was one of
the zoo's oldest and most valuable animals.

With only 40 of its kind left in captivity and 350 living in the wild,
experts predict the species known as the "Lesser Ape" will be extinct
in the wild within 40 years.

The main reason for the animal's disappearance is the loss of its
tropical forest habitat to logging, according to zoo staff.

Bobby-Jean was captured in Java in 1958 and arrived at the Zoo in
1964, the same time as her mate Billy-Joe. The pair produced nine
surviving offspring, which were sent to the United Kingdom, Russia,
Germany, Australia, and California, to participate in a formal
breeding program.

Bobby-Jean died of age-related illness.

At age 50, Bobby-Jean was the oldest Grey Gibbon on record.