Bill, Pharanee and Gibbon
|
True acts of kindness are a rare thing. It seems not often enough that we encounter or witness one. When you do, it’s remarkable to see how some people live their lives. True devotion to a cause and selflessness are inspirational and inspired is how we at Smiling Albino felt, shortly after meeting the amazing people and gibbons you are about to read about. This is the story of the newest member of the SA family, ‘Jerry’.
The first time I visited Highland Farm and Gibbon Sanctuary in Thailand’s remote northwestern Tak province, I certainly wasn’t expecting a lot. Having been to a gibbon rehab center in Phuket, Thailand, the previous year, I thought this would be the same sort of thing – a collection of abused apes being worked on by a NGO. How wrong I was.
I spent about three hours at Highland Farm that first day way back in March, 2001, talking to students who were doing research, speaking with Bill Deters, owner of the property with his Thai wife, Pharanee and of course learning about gibbons. These curious animals are apes (not monkeys as Bill will sternly remind you), which don’t have tails. Their bodies are about a half-meter in height with arms and legs that are just as long. These long appendages help them to quickly swing and maneuver like Tarzan only dreamed he could. They are the only primates that walk on their hind legs and are also known as ‘the singing apes’ due to their frequent hooting and hollering at each other.
The Deters moved to their current home from Los Angeles in 1991 to enjoy a quiet retirement. They bought 35 acres of deforested land and began to replant trees and build themselves a home. For two years Bill lived in a barn on the property, while he taught himself how to build a house using ‘how-to-books’ as his guide. Ten years later, Bill and Pharanee have a wonderful country home, guest quarters for visiting research students, staff housing, fully reforested land and a barrage of animals they have acquired from various sources and cared for over the years.
The Deter’s plan for a quiet retirement took a radical turn that first year at Highland while Bill was living in the barn, building their house. A local hilltribe person approached him with an injured baby gibbon for sale. “If I couldn’t buy it, she would have gone to the bars in Patpong, Bangkok,” explains Bill. “A life span in a bar for a gibbon is under a year, I later learned. They are fed beer, drugs and kept awake for long periods so tourists can have their pictures taken with them.”
So Bill, Pharanee and their new baby gibbon ‘Chester’ began a life together, both learning about the other and what made them tick. It wasn’t long before they were inseparable and more injured and abandoned gibbons were being given to the Deters to care for. “After we had about 15 gibbons we figured we had to call it a sanctuary,” recalls Bill. “You could probably call it empathy. How can we turn them away?”
Thirty-four gibbons, one Asiatic Black Bear, several lemurs, three peacocks, an owl, a couple of monkeys, eight dogs, some geese, a handful of ducks and too many cats to count later, the Deters are living anything but ‘a quiet retirement’. They care for all of these needy creatures out of their own pockets with money from their social security (about US$1,000 per month) and donations from visitors to the farm (16,000 walk-ins to date). With an ever-growing animal family to care for, money is always a major issue at Highland.
“We now have 34 gibbons with no outside financial assistance,” says Bill. “If we got a little financial help, imagine what we could do.”
The Deters have had opportunities to operate under the umbrella of several wildlife organizations and receive funding, but decided the cons far outweighed the pros. “The reason we have not become a part of an official foundation is that 90-93% of their funds go to administration,” a frustrated Bill explains. “I saw a brand new, sport utility vehicle being driven by a foundation member in another part of the country. What do people in those positions need such a high-end company vehicle for? Come on, they should be spending their money more responsibly than that.”
Another reason the cost of caring for these apes is so high is that they can live to be 45-years-old and can never be returned to the jungle explains Bill. “After being taken out the wild, they’re dependent on humans for everything. The jungles are diminishing so quickly too. You can walk to a village from any jungle in Thailand in 30 minutes. Their natural habitat is quickly disappearing. If you lose your habitat and there are poachers who will sell you for money, you are in danger. They have virtually no protection.”
With mounting costs, an ever growing family and such amazing dedication, I couldn’t help thinking about Bill, Pharanee and their Farm after returning home to Bangkok. We stayed in touch via email and tried to think of ways to spread the word about their truly inspirational story.
Pam Fieber, a travel writer for the Calgary Herald, arranged for me to publish a story about Highland Farm and Daniel and I decided it was time for Smiling Albino to help.
I returned to Highland Farm in late May to officially begin a sponsorship program. Smiling Albino is now donating money on behalf of every adventure participant who travels with us, to help care for an injured gibbon named ‘Jerry’. This is but a small step to help the Deters continue to care for these needy apes and surmounting associated costs.
“I think right now, we can accommodate no more than 40 gibbons with our current financial situation, but we can’t turn any down that need help,” sighs Bill. “We made a commitment to put every single dollar towards the animals. Right now, I’m really at a loss.”
All donations to Highland Farm are greatly appreciated and for US$5 per month you can join their ‘Adopt-a-Gibbon’ program.
For more information and donations contact:
Highland Farm & Gibbon Sanctuary
PO Box 24, Amphur Mae Sot, Tak
Thailand 63110
Email: info@highland-farm.org
Website: http://www.highland-farm.org
|
