Railway Track Rerouting to Reconnect Gibbon Sanctuary

• 31 Aug 2023

Primatologists have recently recommended the redirection of a 1.65-km long railway track that bisects the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in eastern Assam, dedicated to the western hoolock gibbon, aiming to restore the sanctuary's unity.

Key Points

• Artificial Canopy Bridge Proposal: Earlier, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) proposed the concept of an artificial canopy bridge to enable the movement of hoolock gibbons across the broad-gauge line within the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary.
• Challenges of Habitat Isolation: The sanctuary, which is home to approximately 125 hoolock gibbons, finds itself in the Jorhat district, encompassing an area of 21 sq. km.
• Habitat loss and fragmentation have rendered these gibbons, India's sole ape species, endangered.
• Genetic Variability at Risk: The existing railway track isolation has led to effective isolation of gibbon families on either side of the track.
• This separation compromises the genetic diversity of the gibbon population, further exacerbating their already precarious survival within the sanctuary.
• Preservation Efforts: The primatologists' recommendation to reroute the railway track seeks to restore connectivity within the sanctuary, preserving the genetic variability and survival prospects of the western hoolock gibbon, a critically endangered species.