No, there isn’t a chimpanzee in my room. Neither am I in South Africa. Thanks to a revolution called live video streaming, I am one of many around the world who are right now awaiting the birth of a chimpanzee baby at Chimp Eden Sanctuary in Mpumalanga, South Africa. And this is a world first.
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| Jane Goodall and a friend |
Chimp Eden is a part of Jane Godall Institute where chimps rescued from hunters are given a secure home. Jane Goodall ofcourse is the lady who singlehandedly brought global attention to the apes and has spent many years observing them, by being one of them, quite literally.
What caught my attention yesterday morning, while going through my regular scrutiny of online animal news, was that the institute was going to show the live birth of a chimpanzee baby. This is not something that has ever been done before and though the idea of watching a chimp's labour room drama may sound weird, it's actually a fantastic oppurtunity to get to know an animal that's so so closely related to us.
Chimpanzees are one of the most human like members of the ape family. Actually, I don’t think genetic engineers will have a really difficult time turning a human to a chimp…because 98 percent of their work is already done!
Chimps share 98 percent of our genetic blueprint. And I am sure you are currently thinking of some human friend who seems to share a bit more...;)
Jokes apart, you observe Nina (that’s the birthing mother who is being videoed) and you are given live proof of how similar you and me are to her.
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| Nina - The would-be mom |
What make's the live stream all the more interesting is the the fact that it is LIVE.
This is no edited footage of widlife in the African jungles. Just like the father pacing the floor outside the labour room all of us watching, hold our breaths in anticipation and await the arrival of the newborn.
Interenstingly, the institute staff’s biting their nails too. This is the first time ever a chimp is giving birth in their facility as it has a strict non- breeding policy. Apparently the contraceptive failed which happens quite frequently with apes and that's how Nina got pregnant! (No, she is not sueing the institute, the contraceptive makers or the father of the baby)
What the staff is all the more worried about is that they are not sure if Nina will accept her baby.
Nina was brought to the institute in 2007 rescued from bush meat hunters who snatched her as a child from her mother. She is just nine years old and at least 6 years younger than the average age at which chimps become pregnant. So being a mother is a new experience for her. She has also never seen any other chimp mother. She may give birth and walk away leaving the staff to take care of the child. One the other hand, motherhood may arrive instinctively to her. The video will therefore also tell us if Nina accepts or rejects motherhood.
Why a live video at all?
The institute director says, they want to tell a story.
Chimps live in Africa and are being killed everyday either for meat or just because their homes are being destroyed. It is believed that at this rate, in another 10 years there might be no chimps left in the world. The video is a good way to peek into the personal life of such an adorable creature and hope that in another ten years, the baby born to Nina will have a wild home to live.
There are at present 3, 39, 163 people around the world who are keeping a watch over Nina day and night. If you want to fall in love with an adorable chimp, welcome a baby into the world or just peek to see some of the chimp antics to confirm how much she resembles you or someone you know...:) just click
here or see below,
Live broadcast by Ustream
P.S. Nina does not know she is being filmed.
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