Upside down birth of ultra-rare bat captured on film for the first time at UK zoo

SWNS

The birth of an ultra-rare bat which was born upside down has been captured on camera for the first time.   Footage shows the critically endangered Livingstone’s fruit bat entering the world at Northumberland Zoo.  It is believed to be the first time a birth of one of the bats has ever been caught on film.  Keepers realised mum Selene was in labour when she showed signs of discomfort and was licking herself on Mother’s Day afternoon (19/3).

Transcript

00:00 For the first time ever, one of the most extreme animal births has been caught on camera of the

00:05 world's third largest bat, the Livingston fruit bat. Here at the zoo on Mother's Day last weekend,

00:10 our keepers were treated to something which has never been recorded before. At 3pm in the afternoon

00:15 we noticed that Celine seemed unsettled and was licking herself a lot, which is unusual.

00:20 It didn't take long before we realized that she was going into labour. As the conditions are kept

00:25 the same in the bat house year-round, our female bats can give birth at any time, but usually only

00:30 give birth to one pup per year. Celine kept using her thumbs on her wings to hang herself upside

00:35 down to let gravity assist her with the birthing process. This critically endangered species is one

00:40 of the rarest bats in the world, with an estimated wild population of only 1,200 remaining, and there

00:46 are only around 100 in captivity in the world. So every single birth is celebrated as an amazing

00:53 part of the captive breeding program. After around two hours and numerous attempts of hanging upside

00:58 down, the bat pup's head finally appeared and after one final push, six-year-old Celine had

01:05 given birth to her first ever pup. Giving birth whilst hanging from her thumbs and the pup hanging

01:10 from just the umbilical cord, Celine then flips herself back into the hanging position and tries

01:16 to get the pup onto her belly. Our other mum, Seema, is there to assist with cleaning the

01:21 newborn pup while Celine continues to move the pup onto her front. During this process, the mother

01:29 will also cut the umbilical cord once the pup has got a good hold. The pup instinctively moves down

01:35 towards its mother's teats, which are located almost in the armpit underneath the wing.

01:40 This allows the baby to be more protected while mum still continues to fly and get food.

01:47 Although this method of giving birth seems quite extreme and unnatural, it is completely normal

01:52 and as the mothers mature and become more experienced, the amount of time that the

01:56 pups actually spend hanging in the air after being born is reduced.

02:00 The pups stay on mum for around three months before spending short periods away from her.

02:06 Not only were we treated to Celine's baby on Mother's Day weekend, but we were also surprised

02:11 by another arrival from our other mum, Thea, as well. Both baby pups are doing extremely well

02:17 and can be seen every day by keen spotters in our Northumberland Zoo bat house. What an incredible

02:24 Mother's Day weekend and what an amazing moment to capture for this critically endangered species.

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