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Animal Pregnancy Baffles Mo. Zoo Curators
Lots of news from our animal friends today.
For some reason today's been an absolute zoo...
No, it is not time for a lecture on the birds and the beasts; they aren’t that baffled.
Despite a daily regimen of birth control pills, Merah the orangutan is pregnant. And St. Louis Zoo officials are uncertain who the father is.
(Insert Clinton joke)
"Needless to say, we have a lot of unanswered questions," primate curator Ingrid Porton said. "It’s a little embarrassing, I have to admit." Diligent about trying to prevent overcrowding and inbreeding, zookeepers have been giving 35-year-old Merah a daily birth control pill mixed into yogurt and honey. Porton suspects the mixture either spilled or was swiped by her 8-year-old son Sugi.
Where do you get orangutan birth-control pills? Is that a big market?
The how is less important than the who, however. Scientists hope the father is 40-year-old Junior, a previous mate with great genes.
40 is geezer-hood for orangutans. Orang-Viagra maybe?
You mean the little orange pill?
They concede it could be Sugi, Merah and Junior’s son. Merah has had liaisons with both. "That’s not uncommon in the wild or in captivity," Porton said.
Orangutans are native to Indonesia and Malaysia, both Muslim countries. How long before someone issues a fatwa against the zoo for not keeping Merah in a burqa?
Tests will determine paternity. Merah appears near the end of her eight-month term.
Baby orangutans are really cute. Orangs are said to be friendlier and less agressive than the other great apes.
"If she is pregnant by Sugi, it’s not the worst thing in the world. It’s successive inbreeding that is a problem," Porton said.
"Just look at the Al Saud family," he added.
"But if she’s pregnant by Junior, it’s a wonderful thing."
Well, it’ll be hard to enforce a child support order, since the father is presumably already locked up.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2004-05-10
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=32700