Elephant birth goes online

Zurich zoo are hoping their next elephant birth can be watched online

In what's being billed as an internet premiere, a Zurich zoo is to broadcast an elephant birth live online.

The Asian elephant, Ceyla-Himali, will calf next month, and when she does, two cameras will carry pictures of the event.

Because the exact date is uncertain, the zoo will start carrying pictures and sound soon on its website.

Elephant Birth

Elephant pregnancies last 21 months

Labour may last for over two hours

Baby elephants weigh between 75 and 150 Kgs

The zoo is also promising to contact anyone who doesn't want to miss the event by phone or e-mail should they not be logged on when the birth happens.

A live human birth was captured by a webcam in June 1998, when a 40-year-old Florida woman gave birth to a boy.

This is, however, believed to be the first online elephant birth.

The zoo said it would use publicity surrounding the birth to draw attention to the plight of Asian elephants.

Their numbers are sinking from the current figure of between 40,000 to 50,000 as people increasingly encroach on their natural habitat.