BBC News | SCI/TECH | Elephant birth goes online

BBC News Online: Sci/Tech

Tuesday, 18 April, 2000, 17:06 GMT 18:06 UK

Elephant birth goes 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.

Related to this story:
New dawn for webcams (30 Dec 99 | UK)
Baby born on the web (17 Jun 98 | Americas)

Internet links: Webcam resource | Elephant webcam | Elephant miscellany | Zurich Zoo |
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