Submissions | VizChitra 2026
Gibbon Moves: Navigating an altered habitat
Sambita
Research Coordinator•Canopy Collective
Description
Gibbon Moves is an interactive illustrated map that transforms behavioral and ecological data on a family of endangered Western Hoolock Gibbons in Barekuri, Assam into a participatory, gamified experience. It invites visitors to explore how habitat fragmentation impacts the only Indian non-human ape species in a human-altered landscape.
Visitors engage (10 minutes each) with a 4 × 5 ft illustrated map representing ~2.5 sq. km of gibbon habitat. Using information cards and stickers, they step into the gibbon’s world, tracing their navigational routes shaped by canopy connectivity while marking risks, rewards, and uncertainties encountered along the way. Behavioral and ecological data thus becomes experiential through negotiation of movement paths to maximize rewards over risks in the fragmented habitat.
Data drives the work by addressing what conventional GIS misses: fine-scale risks in disturbed habitats. GIS data is integrated with ground-truthed field data to create an illustrated map from the gibbon’s POV. Real routes and field observations inform gibbon interaction points, understanding of risks and rewards, guiding the visitor interaction-mediated data visualization.
At its core, the work asks what habitat-fragmentation means for an arboreal species' daily decisions. It reveals how landscapes that appear lush to human eyes and satellites may still hide risks for a non-human, opening reflection on human-wildlife coexistence.
Set in Barekuri, where a small isolated gibbon population persists, thanks to their resilience and local compassion, in a rapidly shrinking-habitat rife with threats from infrastructural development, this project supports local conservation efforts by making ecological-data accessible.
Aligned with Data, Otherwise, the work foregrounds more-than-human data: gibbon movements are treated not merely as coordinates but as non-human decision points & spatial knowledge. By shifting data from static maps to a participatory playable form, it proposes an alternative format beyond charts & purely quantitative, and beyond the solely human.
Data Source
Gibbon Moves is rooted in primatologist Ishika Ramakrishna’s existing doctoral research data on gibbon behavior and ecology. We integrate spatial data along with qualitative data from field observations and community interviews on landscape-use and vegetation patterns, gibbon movement tracks and key interaction points of the apes in the habitat to illuminate on route possibilities, and potential for reward and risks along the way based on habitat composition. Rewards for gibbons include the ease of navigation (presence of tall trees with wide canopy), presence of foraging opportunities (fruiting-trees, friendly humans) while risks arise from sparse navigational routes due to canopy gaps, lack of food resources, etc. Electrical cables are double-edged swords as they are usually used for navigation but when damaged or during rain can have electrocution risks. We intend to display quantitative outcomes of each visitor-mapped-route (risk-vs-reward & safety score of each route) as charts on a large score-card.
Technical Requirements
Stable mounting for the 4 ft x 5 ft printed illustrated map for visitor interaction. A table to lay out the info cards, stickers, etc. A stable board or stand to mount the score chart (approx. 4 ft x 5 ft ) to display quantitative interaction outcome data. Focus lighting for clear visibility of the map, cards and score chart.
Additional, if feasible, headphone/speaker for Audio of gibbon calls to mark start of the day when navigation begins.
Project Status & Timeline
This is an existing work in prototype form, previously presented at conservation outreach events including Students Conference on Conservation Science, Justice Makers’ Mela, and Gibbon Fest. For the exhibition, we propose to refine and expand the participatory elements by designing information cards and color-/number-coded stickers that more clearly translate behavioral and ecological data into interactive decision-making.
Depending on budget, we can further expand the illustrated map to represent greater habitat complexity within the home range, and introduce a score chart that makes route safety scores, risk–reward trade-offs, and number of safe routes legible as aggregated data/charts (for the more quantitative audience).
We require approximately 1 month to revisit existing data, 1.5 months to produce the cards, stickers, score-chart, 1 month for map expansion (if undertaken), 0.5 month buffer, and a few hours for installation. The work can be completed and installed within the exhibition schedule.
Previous Work
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Gibbon Moves
We are a primatologist–interdisciplinary practitioner collaboration combining gibbon research with illustration to create participatory, gamified data-visualization that makes scientific research insights on gibbon behavior and ecology accessible to a wider audience for conservation outreach.