JERUSALEM: A twenty four year old chimp has given birth to twins in Jerusalem's biblical zoo

Record ID: 861747

  • Title: JERUSALEM: A twenty four year old chimp has given birth to twins in Jerusalem's biblical zoo
  • Date: 25th May 2004
  • Summary: (L!1) JERUSALEM (MAY 25, 2004) (REUTERS ) MLV: MAYA, A CHIMPANZEE, WITH HER TWINS LV: OF SEVERAL CHIMPANZEES SAT ON GRASS CU/ZOOM OUT/LV: OF MALE CHIMPANZEE URINATING IN WATER, SMELLS WATER THEN TURNS HIS BACK ON IT SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) ANAT VEXER, ZOO OFFICIAL, SAYING "Out of the three males we have here, one had this procedure called vasectomy which means he still produces sperm but his sperm is not fertile so he's not an option. The next one after him he's really long, he's castrated so he's not an option, the youngest male, his name is Nick, we thought he's too young and it will take some time until we see something come out of him." CU/ZOOM OUT: MAYA HOLDING HER BABIES TO HER CHEST, STRETCHES HER ARM OUT WS: OF CHIMPANZEE ENCLOSURE (2 SHOTS) TRAM PASSING BY ON ZOO PATH CHILD LOOKING THROUGH PLASTIC SCREEN AT CHIMPANZEE ENCLOSURE LV/WS: OF DOMINANT MALE, OG, SITTING AWAY, BY THE WALL, FROM MAIN GROUP OF CHIMPANZEES
  • Embargoed: 9th June 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JERUSALEM
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA7W4B4T2G0MX14ALSVD3AG9LGD
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: An unplanned pregnancy: 24-year-old chimp gives birth to twins in Jerusalem Israeli zookeepers suspected some monkey business after Maya, a 24-year-old chimpanzee, suddenly gave birth to twins despite an apparent lack of virile mates.
    The happy event at Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo caught everyone by surprise: nobody had noticed Maya was pregnant and Og and Gremlin, the only adult males among 11 chimps at the facility, were sterilised years ago, a zoo official said on Tuesday.
    A search for the father found that a precocious seven-year-old chimp called Nicky had reached puberty early and was probably having the run of the primates' house.
    "Out of the three males we have here, one had this procedure called vasectomy which means he still produces sperm but his sperm is not fertile so he's not an option.
    The next one after him he's really long, he's castrated so he's not an option, the youngest male, his name is Nick, we thought he's too young and it will take some time until we see something come out of him."said zoo official Anat Vexer.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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