Website to screen rare rhino's birth
The world's first filmed birth of a rare black rhino at a UK zoo will be seen on the internet, it was revealed today.
One-tonne mother Sita’s every move at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in Devon will be followed by a webcam and broadcast on a BBC website.
It is expected the heavily pregnant Sita will give birth to a single calf - which could weigh up to 80lb – in the rhino house, which has under-floor heating.
A global audience will be able to follow her progress by logging on to www.bbc.co.uk/devon/rhino.
The event – likely to take place later this month or early February – will be Paignton Zoo’s first black rhino birth.
The BBC has installed remote control cameras in the rhino house and BT has sponsored a high-speed broadband line so that images can be streamed on to the world wide web.
A TV screen in the zoo will keep visitors up to date.
The zoo’s curator of mammals, Neil Bemment, said: “She is a first-time mum, so we are all a little nervous. We hope that she will give birth successfully and rear the calf herself, but we are ready to step in and hand-rear if we must.”
Senior keeper Jason Knight added: “Rhino births can be difficult. We hope it will all go smoothly, but there is a chance that the calf could be rejected by its mother, or it could be still-born. We are hoping for the best but we must be prepared for any eventuality.”
All five species of rhino are endangered, with black rhinos suffering a huge population decline of 96% during the 1970s and 80s.
There are now thought to be no more than 3,100 scattered through east and southern Africa.
Paignton Zoo, a registered charity, is one of only four zoos in the UK with black rhinos and supports practical rhino conservation work in Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Sita’s story will be screened during the upcoming series of BBC1’s Inside Out on Fridays from January 12.
Producer Andrew Brown said: “Our film of the birth of a black rhino is going to be a world first. We have borrowed specialist cameras from Springwatch and we have a team of people on call.
“She is likely to give birth overnight, but our cameras can switch to infrared so we won’t miss a thing.”
BT West of England regional manager Michael Dunn said: “It is a wonderful example of the almost limitless opportunities offered by high-speed broadband.”
The zoo’s keeping staff and the in-house vet team hope to leave Sita to get on with the birth – after a gestation period of around 15 months – by herself.
