7:32pm Wednesday 23rd July 2008
By Steven Smith
HAPPY and carefree in their new home, these golden cheeked gibbons can look forward to a better life thanks to Dorset's Monkey World.
As reported in the Daily Echo on Tuesday, the Wool primate rescue centre is celebrating the completion of the Dao Tien Endangered Species Centre in southern Vietnam.
The idea was born six years ago when the late Jim Cronin, founder of Monkey World, and his wife, Dr Alison Cronin, saw at first hand the horrifying smuggling trade in the Far East.
Jim decided something had to be done and now his dream has come true.
Situated in the Cat Tien National Park, the centre was built with the help of the Pingtun Rescue Centre in Taiwan to rescue and rehabilitate endangered primates and ultimately release pairs of gibbons back into the park's forests.
The centre is already home to six gibbons and boasts 10 rehabilitation cages, a primate hospital, water tower and staff facilities.
Last week, Alison, director of Monkey World, visited Vietnam to open the park and to see a memorial stone to her late husband, who died from cancer last year.
It is engraved with the words: "This primate rescue centre was his passion and his inspiration."
Alison said: "It is truly amazing to see it come together and already making a difference in the lives of six rescued golden-cheeked gibbons.
"Jim knew that a few people could make a difference in saving endangered species and this is what the Dao Tien Rescue Centre is all about."
The opening is just the start - phase two will see the design and construction of a semi-wild enclosure to prepare the gibbons for release back to the wild.
A charity, the Endangered Asian Species Trust, has been set up to support the project. Visit monkeyworld.org for details.
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