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'Attached at the hip': ABQ BioPark Zoo ape gets playmate
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Everyone needs a companion, including apes.
Polaris, a 6-year-old lar gibbon, found his in fellow lar gibbon Siena, 8, at the ABQ BioPark Zoo.
“He is an adorable little guy,” said Josephine Frentzel, assistant curator of primates, in a news release . “He is active, very friendly, and we are glad he’s here.”
The zoo acquired Polaris in mid-July and since then, Polaris and Siena can be seen together like peas and carrots on the north end of the ape walk, on the way to the Africa area.
“All primates need social interaction with their own species, and both Polaris and Siena were in need of companionship,” ABQ BioPark spokesperson Felina Martinez said in an email.
Siena and Polaris have been “attached at the hip,” Frentzel said.
Polaris’ addition has been a godsend for Siena, who has been at the zoo since April 2024, the same month the zoo acquired Makaio, an 8-year-old white-cheeked gibbon.
Makaio died in May of unknown causes.
“By herself, she wasn’t vocalizing, but with (Polaris), they do a duet and she is getting louder every day and is gaining a lot of confidence with him,” Frentzel said.
Polaris and Siena are lar gibbons, a species of tree-dwelling lesser apes native to Southeast Asia that are recognized by their white ring of fur around their face and white fur on their hands and feet, according to ABQ BioPark.
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“Lesser apes are generally distinguished from great apes by their smaller size,” Martinez said.
Lar gibbons are listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
On that next trip to the BioPark Zoo, say hello to Polaris.
