Chimp birth: first close-ups

When a woman gives birth, the newborn emerges facing the opposite direction from its mother. This was thought to be unique among primates but now videos of chimp birth captured by Satoshi Hirata and colleagues from the Great Ape Research Institute of Hayashibara Biochemical Laboratories in Okayama, Japan are proving otherwise (see video above). Thought to be the first close-ups of chimps giving birth, they show newborns coming out head down. In two of the cases, the baby chimps land on the ground without being guided, just as a human infant would without the help of midwives or medics. Source: New Scientist TV