Rare gibbon born at Yunnan rescue center

The first Hoolock gibbon to be born via artificial breeding in China is in good health and getting tender care from its human keepers in Dehong Dai and Jingpo autonomous prefecture in Yunnan province.

The breeding has provided a learning experience for saving endangered species.

The Dehong wild animal rescue center has one mature female Hoolock gibbon and three males. Experts helped the female get pregnant, and the baby was born in October.

It was named Shiwu, meaning 15, because it was born during the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, or COP15, in Kunming, the provincial capital.

The baby, a male that weighed 450 grams at birth, now weighs 650 g. Experts at the center said that during the day keepers feed it goat milk; at night, it is fed by its mother. The mode is a breakthrough in breeding baby gibbons.

The Hoolock gibbon is a first-class protected wild animal in China.

Video provided by Zhang Rentao.