Animal lovers at Ellesmere adopt Chester Zoo's silvery gibbons

The animal loving team at Store First Ellesmere Port has adopted the silvery gibbons at Chester Zoo, as part of the zoo's corporate sponsorship programme.

As a result of their silvery, fluffy fur, silvery gibbons are easy to spot. Visitors to the zoo enjoy watching them swinging from tree to tree in Chester Zoo's Monsoon Forest habitat. Part of the zoo's Islands zone, Monsoon Forest is the UK's largest ever zoological development, created to highlight the dangers threatening silvery gibbons.
Chris Hawker, store manager at our Ellesmere centre, said the adoption is the perfect way for his team to combine their love of wildlife and desire to support community causes.
He said: "All of our staff are members of Chester Zoo and we appreciate the work Chester Zoo has done for all of its animals. We will be keeping in touch with the zoo for regular updates on our silvery gibbons!"

What is a silvery gibbon?

Silvery gibbons are primates in the gibbon family, hailing from the small island of Java in Indonesia.. Their distinctive blue-silver fur, grey or black cap and lack of tail set them apart from other apes.

They travel in small families as mating pairs. Their diet consists of fruit, leaves and flowers.

Why are silvery gibbons at risk?

While there is a thriving population of silvery gibbons at Chester Zoo, it's sadly not the case elsewhere. In fact, they are among the world's most endangered primates. Sadly, they have lost 96% of their original homes through habitat destruction.

Illegal wildlife trade has also had a dire effect on the species. Hunters target them in the wild to capture their babies and sell them in markets as pets. As the primates nurse their babies for 18 months and raise them in family units until the age of 8 or 10, this has a devastating impact.

Consequently, there are now fewer than 2,500 of the species left in the wild and the species is at serious risk of extinction.

Find out more

Visit http://www.chesterzoo.org/ for more information about sponsoring animals.

Store First Ellesmere Port

To speak to a member of the team about self storage at Ellesmere Port, email ellesmere@storefirst.com or call them on 0151 341 7000. Find the store using the information on the centre's location page here.