Ape mum Heather Grierson is so devoted to her adopted baby gibbon she
even takes the tiny primate into her local cinema.

For full story and pictures:

Animal lover Heather, 49, park director of the Kisma Wildlife Preserve
in Mt Desert, Maine, USA, has been mothering cute Tica 24-hours-a-day
for 13 weeks after her young mother – a resident at the park – proved
unable to care for her offspring.

It means the wildlife lover now eats, sleeps and even shops with her
furry baby, drawing curious stares from other residents of the small
American town.

Normally when the surrogate mum can’t  find a suitable baby-sitter she
is forced to stay in and cancels her night s out.

But on some occasions – like when Trekker Heather has tickets booked
to see the latest Star Trek film and can’t find a nanny – she takes
Tica with her and simply ignores the weird looks from passers by.

“I wasn’t going to miss that for anything,” said Heather.

“Normally my staff are on hand to look after her for a while but it
didn’t work out that time. Instead,

“I just wrapped Tica up in her favourite sarong and took her along to
the movie theatre. Fortunately the staff didn’t notice she was inside
when I arrived so I managed to smuggle her in. I don’t think they
would have liked it.

“She’s was good as gold in the theatre and I don’t think anyone else
spotted I had a live baby gibbon with me. She didn’t make peep.”

Two weeks after she was born in March, Tica’s natural mother was
struggling to cope and Heather and her team decided to remove.

In the ape’s natural habitat in South East Asia it is a regular
occurrence that young gibbon mums are unable to bear the
responsibility of offspring.

Sadly the infant usually dies but it’s a natural process where the
developing parent gets a chance to practice at childcare and ensures
they are better equipped the next time around.

But for Heather, whose wildlife sanctuary has been involved in a
breeding programme for 20 years in a desperate attempt to save the
species’ dwindling population, all loses are unacceptable.

“In my lifetime their numbers have dropped worldwide by 90%,” said
Heather. “They are losing their habitat as palm oil plantations move
in and the resident population just dies out.

“We are doing everything we can here to boost their numbers and keep a
healthy population alive.”

The need for baby gibbons to have permanent social contact when they
grow is vital to their adult well-being.

Heather added: “If they don’t have that contact then they can develop
sever psychological problems. Tica will be gradually introduced to our
other gibbons here at the park or to another group we have in Miami.”

But until the adorable critter is at least six months, she will be
clinging to her favourite cuddly toy, Heather’s neck and getting all
the motherly love she needs.

“I have to be careful with my choice of clothes so I don’t end up
topless,” said Heather. “She has a good grip and she can pull off
flimsy shoulder straps quite easily.”

She added: “The best thing everyone can do to save these amazing
animals is to avoid palm oil. It is in everything from fried chicken
to cosmetics and we have survived for thousands of years without it.
It isn’t necessary but the gibbons need their habitat.”

Words by Liam Miller

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