MONKEYING AROUND MAY SAVE GIBBONS CENTER WORKS TO REPOPULATE SPECIES THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION GLOBALLY.

Byline: Kathleen Sweeney Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - After 30 days in quarantine, 6-year-old Khusus dashed from her cage, embraced new-found friend Ushko and kissed him on the chest.

And for several months after that, the two Javan gibbons didn't leave each other's side. In their cage at the International Center for Gibbon Studies, nestled in the hills outside Santa Clarita, they sometimes mated up to 20 times a day - not knowing how important an offspring would be to their species.

But like any new relationship, the newness wore off and mating diminished to four or five times daily. And now, Khusus lets her partner know she's in charge.

``She's kind of a bad girl,'' said Alan Mootnick, who created the center more than 25 years ago as a haven for the endangered gibbons. ``I think she's a little mischievous.''

Khusus, which means ``special'' in Indonesian, arrived at the center in October from the Perth Zoo in western Australia, in the hope that she would help repopulate a species that only has 400 left in the wild. She and Ushko are two of 36 gibbons at the center.

Most species of gibbons are running some risk of extinction, Mootnick said. Poachers are hunting the babies in China, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia, mostly to sell as pets. Often, the mothers are killed and skinned or used for food.

Mootnick houses six of 11 species of gibbons, the rarest and most endangered. So far this year, two babies have been born, including Parker, a white-cheeked gibbon, delivered June 15.

``They are extremely rare,'' Mootnick said. ``(Parker) is the second baby of this blood line. It's very important to the survival plan.''

The infant mostly hangs on to its mother, Ricky, but is becoming more alert and curious about visitors, especially those who bring cameras.

Mootnick, who hopes to release the gibbons into the wild, limits human contact with them. He feeds them eight times a day and makes notes of their behavior. But he doesn't get too close and has yet to determine if Parker is male or female.

A few cages away from Parker, Khusus is singing her morning song. She's adjusted well to her new home, Mootnick said. She and Ushko will stay together for at least two years, unless they start a family.

From a glance, she looks content on ruling her roost.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Khusus, a female Javan gibbon, is a relative newcomer to the International Center for Gibbon Studies outside Santa Clarita.

(2 -- color) Parker, a white-cheeked gibbon, was born to its mother Ricky on June 15. So far this year, two babies have been born at the International Center for Gibbon Studies.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News