Video: Endangered Primate Uses Bridge Over Rail Track In Assam Sanctuary

A male Western Hoolock Gibbon, an endangered primate, was seen using a canopy bridge deployed over a railway line passing through the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in Assam's Jorhat district on Saturday.

The canopy bridges were designed and installed as a mitigation measure jointly by the Assam Forest Department and the Wildlife Institute of India over the Lumding-Dibrugarh railway line under the guidance of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India (MoEFCC).

"Good to see that mitigation measures such as this canopy bridge made over the railway passing through Assam have started being used by the hoolock gibbon. This shows science-led small-scale efforts can also be of great help in biodiversity conservation," said Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

Innovation-led conservation!

Good to see that mitigation measure such as this canopy bridge made over a railway passing through Assam has started being used by Hoolock Gibbon.

This shows science-led small-scale efforts can also be of great help in biodiversity conservation. pic.twitter.com/Rw1ddA8OYu

— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) May 15, 2026

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) set up canopy bridges over railway tracks in Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary to facilitate the safe movement of the gibbons.

Many hoolock gibbons died while crossing the railway track after coming in contact with live electric wires and getting electrocuted.

"For the safe movement of the ape species, the NFR, in consultation with the State Forest Department, the Wildlife Institute of India and all stakeholders, decided to establish a canopy bridge over the railway track in the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary as a mitigation measure. Today, we saw that a male gibbon was passing through the canopy bridge. It's a good moment for us," said an official.

Gibbons are listed as "endangered" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List and protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

These primates, found in the forested belts south of the Brahmaputra River and east of the Dibang River, are highly canopy-dependent. They rarely come down to the ground, and when they do, walking upright with arms raised, they become vulnerable to attacks from dogs and other predators.

The Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary is a 20.98 sq km protected evergreen forest, famous as India's only sanctuary named after a primate. It was established in 1997 and hosts India's only apes – the endangered Western Hoolock Gibbon – along with the Bengal Slow Loris.