Wildlife Institute of India

A landmark moment for gibbon conservation in India! 🐵 A male Western Hoolock Gibbon was today recorded crossing the canopy bridges with safety nets over the railway line in Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary. This is the first confirmed use by a gibbon in the Sanctuary — and the first documented use of a canopy bridge structure over a railway line anywhere in the world! The bridges were designed and deployed as a mitigation measure for the electrification works on the existing single-track Lumding-Dibrugarh railway line passing through the Sanctuary, during February-March 2025. A proud moment for all stakeholders and a ray of hope for mitigating the impacts of linear infrastructure on India’s only ape. However, long-term solutions — careful infrastructure planning and eco-conscious siting and creating reforested corridors to connect isolated populations — remain critical for the long-term survival of exclusively arboreal and threatened species like gibbons. Grateful to the Assam Forest Department and all partners involved in the design, deployment, and continued monitoring of the canopy bridge structures. MoEF&CC Chief Minister Assam Assam Forest Department Ministry of Railways Northeast Frontier Railway Aaranyak IUCN Species Survival Commission IUCN Gibbon SSA Nandha Kumar IFS Dilip Chetry Rohit Jha Stanzin Zangmo Ramesh Pandey Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj Wildlife Institute of India DFO Jorhat (T) Division G V Gopi #WesternHoolockGibbon #GibbonConservation #HollongaparGibbonSanctuary #CanopyBridges #WildlifeMitigation #LinearInfrastructure #MitigationHierarchy

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