Java's Singing, Swinging Gibbons

Java's Singing, Swinging Gibbons

From How to Save It by Whitley Fund for Nature

January 14, 2026 · 11 min · Season 2 · Episode 6

About this episode

Rahayu Oktaviani discusses her work to conserve the Javan gibbon and raise awareness about its plight.

It’s a happy accident for the Javan gibbon that Rahayu Oktaviani could not find funding to study orangutans and switched to gibbons for purely practical reasons. She was hooked once she heard “the most beautiful song” of her life in the forest and is working with her team at KIARA, the NGO she founded, to make sure that it doesn’t disappear. Less than 10 percent of forests remain in Java, one of the most densely populated islands on earth. Rahayu, known as Ayu, is part of a new generation of conservationists inspired by Sir David Attenborough as well as primatologists Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas. She tells Kate and Edward that she wants to raise awareness of the Javan gibbon in the same way the legendary women helped chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans to win hearts and minds around the world.     How to Save It highlights ingenious solutions from the world’s leading conservationists. To learn more about their work and to receive updates, sign up here https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_NewsletterSignup     Find out more and watch Ayu’s film https://bit.ly/WFN_Podcast_Oktaviani     Follow us on https://www.instagram.com/whitleyawards/ and…

People in this episode

Hosts: Kate, Edward

Guest: Rahayu Oktaviani

Topics covered

  • conservation
  • primatology
  • Javan gibbon
  • environment
  • biodiversity

Keywords

  • Javan gibbon
  • conservation
  • Rahayu Oktaviani
  • KIARA
  • biodiversity
  • Sir David Attenborough
  • primatology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: KIARA

Books & works: Gee’s Golden Langur

Places: Java, Bhutan

More episodes of How to Save It

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the How to Save It podcast page.