For the first time ever , a female Pan paniscus has been visualise leave birth in the wild at theLuikotale Bonobo Projectfield web site in the Democratic Republic of the Congo . This observation give unexampled insight into the social habits of female bonobos during childbirth , which could aid in conservation efforts and care for enwrapped bonobos . The research was conducted by Pamela Heidi Douglas of Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology , and her paper was published inPrimates .
pygmy chimpanzee are small chimpanzees that only live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Though bonobos are some of theclosest living relativesto homo , political ferment in the country has made it difficult for researchers to meditate them in their natural habitat . This makes Luikotale quite peculiar and an invaluable place for primatologists .
Wild ape are typically leery of human spectators , but Douglas had trace the group for over a year and a half as part of her Ph.D. dissertation . During this clock time , the group became more well-situated around her , allowing her to get close enough to routinely collect urine samples . It was through these sample that Douglas was able to perform a maternity trial run , instruct about Luna ’s condition not long after conception .
One morning , Douglas observe Luna giving birth in a nest up in a tree , not down on solid undercoat . Luna was follow by two female comrade who waited nearby during the birthing mental process and partake in in eating the placenta after the sister was born .
There were many aspects about this event that provide scientist with new perceptiveness or clarified previous suspicions . Primarily , it was expected that these primates give nascency under the cover of dark , so the fact that the rescue took place in the morning was unexpected . The fact that Luna let two spectators to be so faithful to her and eat part of the nutritionally - dense placenta was also somewhat surprising .
It was traditionally think that most hierarch hand birth alone , though there have been uncertainty over the last few year . In this study , Douglas witnessed a total of 39 births from 31 primate species , and 34 of them were accompanied by others . In captivity , bear pygmy chimpanzee are typically removed from the grouping when it is time to give birth . translate that childbirth is a social process might advance zookeepers to allow the mother to stay with the group for get the reinforcement they would receive in the wild .
After the bringing , Luna sat still in the tree diagram and allowed Douglas to get a secure , long appear at the newborn . The new mother did not come along to be skittish around her human audience , which likely is a will to how comfortable she felt around Douglas .
[ Via : BBC Earth ]
