The Gibbon Conservation Center (GCC) is an animal conservation and education center located near

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17th ...

. It is dedicated exclusively to the small Asian ape, the

gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical rainforest from eastern Bangladesh to Northeast India ...

, and houses the most varied group of gibbons in the Western Hemisphere, including representatives of all 4 genera and 5 of the existing 19 species. The average population of the GCC is approximately 40 gibbons, housed in family groups. The GCC is a registered 501c3 non-profit tax-exempt organization, supported by donations, a small staff and many volunteers. The GCC is open to the public for tours on weekends and by special arrangement. Students and anthropology/biology researchers regularly conduct projects and observations at the Gibbon Conservation Center. The goals of the GCC include: to help ensure the conservation and survival of all gibbon species in the wild and in captivity; to provide a captive haven for all gibbon species as a complement to protecting them in the wild; to educate the public and add to the knowledge on gibbons for the scientific community, rehabilitation centers, and zoos and to support ongoing field conservation projects. The current director of the Gibbon Conservation Center is Gabriella (Gabi) Skollar, who worked with the founder, Alan Mootnick, for several years until his death. The GCC was founded by Alan Mootnick (January 23, 1951–November 4, 2011), a native of

Encino, California Encino (Spanish language, Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north t ...

who became a leading authority on gibbons despite having no formal training in the biological sciences. Mootnick acquired his first gibbon (a former pet named Spanky) in 1976, and in 1980 he used money from his home repair and painting business to buy the 10-acre site where the center now operates.T. W. McGarry
"Apes in the Desert : Self-Taught Expert on Gibbons Seeks Nonprofit Status for Research Center"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', November 7, 1988.

References

External links

Gibbon Conservation CenterInterview of Alan Mootnick at the GCC (PETS.TV)
{Dead link, date=December 2019 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Wildlife rehabilitation and conservation centers Santa Clarita, California