The young baby Javan gibbon born at Howletts

Howletts Wild Animal Park at Bekesbourne is celebrating the birth of a baby gibbon, the 24th to be born at the park since the 1980s.

The male infant is being cared for by its doting parents, mum Kulon and dad Ujung, who are named after the Ujung-Kulon National Park in the gibbons’ ancestral land of Java.

Park animal director Neil Spooner said: “We are delighted to add another baby Javan gibbon to our growing collection of primates.

"These fantastic creatures are in serious decline in the wild and captive breeding programmes like ours may represent one of the best opportunities for the survival of this species in the long term”.

Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks currently hold half of the world’s captive population of Javan gibbons, with 12 males and 13 females between the parks and the only breeding pair in England.

With only 2,000 Javan gibbons left in the wild, each new arrival in captivity gives new hope for the survival of this rare primate.