Tree bridges and canopy restoration help India’s hoolock gibbons cross fragmented forests
Quick dive
- The hoolock gibbon is India’s only ape other than humans and is found in Northeast India, mostly south of the Brahmaputra.
- Western and eastern hoolock gibbon populations have declined by about 90% in recent decades, chiefly because habitat fragmentation isolates groups.
- Gibbons are arboreal, prefer living above 30 feet and are vulnerable on the ground; braided rope bridges and planted tree canopies help them cross railway lines and roads.
- At a railway site in Northeast India, careful planting on both sides allowed canopies to join after about 15 years, supplementing earlier gantry bridges.
- exam_relevance: tests species distribution, arboreal adaptation, linear-infrastructure impacts and ecological restoration, with a specific Indian conservation intervention rather than a generic biodiversity fact.
Full explanation
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