On the morning of the 21^st of January we were pleased to welcome a party of interested visitors to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project, GRP and Khao Phra Thaew. This group had travelled to Phuket representing Bhutan’s Department of Forests and Park services, and included its director Karma Dukpa.

Bhutan is a small country but is fortunate to have a lot of remaining forest. This Himalayan country has 3 distinct zones (subtropical, temperate and alpine) and therefore a diverse range of wildlife. Lhendup Tharchen, the coordinator of several of Bhutan’s conservation programmes told us a little about the situation there, one rehabilitation facility for wildlife exists but is there mainly in order to look after injured animals, apparently there is not such a problem with illegal hunting.

We explained to the visitors the aims and methods of the gibbon project and discussed the work we are doing here and why it is necessary. We also spoke about the forest itself, the need to study it and the long term goals of the GRP for involving the community in conservation.