GUWAHATI: The construction of a natural bridge, that was 13 years in the making, has reunited the hoolock gibbon population in Jorhat’s Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary after almost a century.
According to a report by The Times of India, during the colonial era in 1887, the construction of railway tracks through the Wildlife Sanctuary had separated the hoolock gibbon population of the area.
Following that, in 2015, an iron bridge was constructed to connect the diversified areas but the arboreal creatures never accepted it. However, they have taken to the natural bridge which was made by intertwining branches of trees to form a natural tree canopy.
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According to the report, the sanctuary is divided into five ‘compartments’ for conservation management purposes. The construction of the railway tracks had isolated the Hoolock gibbons in compartment I with other compartments that are across the tracks.
As a result of this isolation, inbreeding started taking place in the population in compartment I which is considered detrimental for the long-term conservation of these species.