TURA: A male baby hoolock gibbon of around three years has been rescued by the Huro Programme, an initiative working for the protection and preservation of the species in Garo Hills.
The animal was taken into possession from its owner, Waran M Sangma of Naringgre Rongku Gittim of Rongjeng in East Garo Hills.
According to the owner he bought the gibbon baby from a group of hunting teenagers who got hold of it after injuring its mother. The mother who managed to flee the scene is suspected to have succumbed to her injuries.
Waran informed that the baby gibbon was caught by the hunters in April 2015 and was about to be killed for meat when he offered to buy it. He bought the animal for a mere Rs 350 and his family has been keeping him since.
A government official reportedly also offered the family a sum of Rs 30,000 for the hoolock gibbon but the family refused to part with it. The family later handed over the animal to a team from Huro Programme.
“It was an emotional farewell for the family. All of them bid a tearful adieu,” a team member who was part of the rescue said.
