Lincoln Park Zoo welcomes new ‘curious’ and ‘confident’ white-handed gibbon

CHICAGO — A white-handed gibbon has joined the Lincoln Park Zoo, arriving on the same day as her sixth birthday.

JC came to the Lincoln Park Zoo from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium where she was born to mom Chanee and dad Leo.

Her former keepers in Columbus describe JC as “chill, curious and confident.” The zoo says those characteristics are making her transition to Lincoln Park smooth and successful.

According to the Lincoln Park Zoo, within a day of arriving, JC made herself at home in her new habitat. She is living with Murray, a white-cheeked gibbon and longtime resident of the zoo.

“Murray’s companion Burma passed away recently, so we’ve been working closely with the Gibbon SSP to find a new buddy for him,” Danielle Fogarty, Zoological Manager of Primates at Lincoln Park Zoo, said. “JC has shown a lot of interest in Murray from the moment they were introduced and was quick to approach and gently touch him, so we’re hopeful that this is just the beginning of a long and successful friendship.”

 Lar Gibbons are native to southeast Asia and spend most of their lives in forested regions. They are an endangered series due to being hunted for bushmeat and pet trade, as well as the expansion of palm oil plantations.

With a body up to two feet in length, the species moves from tree to tree by grasping at branches with their fingers, swinging through with a hand-over-hand motion called brachiation.

The zoo has designed “brachiation bars” at the top of the outdoor gibbon habitat to encourage JC and Murray to practice species-specific behavior, zoo officials say.

For more information on the Lincoln Park Zoo, click here.