Watch as SA Chimp gives birth
2013-01-15 09:10
Johannesburg - In a world first, a chimpanzee is expected to give birth while the world watches. And what's more she's South African!
Beeld reports that Nina (9), a chimpanzee from Chimp Eden (part of the Jane Goodall Institute) just outside Nelspruit is being monitored by special webcams 24 hours a day, as her baby is expected to arrive any moment now. The mom to be is being kept in a special quarantine unit in Chimp Eden.
According to David Devo Oosthuizen, executive director of the Jane Goodall Institute in South Africa (JGI SA), this is the first web broadcast of its kind. With a camera focused on Nina both day and night, people from right across the globe can tune in and watch a live broadcast whenever they choose... and stand the chance of watching as her baby is born.
Oosthuizen explained that Chimp Eden is a rehabilitation centre for chimpanzees and that they have a strict no breeding policy. However, the contraceptive Nina was on didn't seem to do its job.
"It happens with female chimpanzees in captivity now and then, but this is a first for Chimp Eden," Oosthuizen told the paper.
He added that there could be complications, and that Nina is a rather young mother. Chimpanzees normally only start breeding at the age of 15.
If you want to tune in to see how Nina's doing, check out the following links.
- http://lite.wildearth.tv/chimp-eden-nina-cam
- www.ustream.tv/channel/chimp-eden-nina-birth-cam
- www.chimpeden.com
