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A little help for Mother Nature

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published January 25, 2007

In Hungary, there's a test-tube rhino

Lulu and Easyboy, the rhinos at the Budapest Zoo in Hungary, liked each other, just not in that way. But the keepers at the zoo really wanted a little rhino running around. So they decided to give the couple a little help from science. A group of scientists from Germany, Austria and Hungary got together and conceived a rhino by artificial insemination for the first time ever. That was 16 months ago. Tuesday, a bouncing baby rhino joined the zoo. She doesn't have a name yet, and she weighs about 128. "The little one seemed active and vital. An hour after being born it stood up on its own legs," a zoo statement said. Above, zookeepers tend to the baby, because Lulu is going to take some time to learn to be a good mom.

Komodo dragon becomes a single mom

Five eggs from Flora, left, a Komodo dragon at the Chester Zoo in England, have hatched in the past week and the hatchlings are doing fine. We'd congratulate the dad as well, but there isn't one. "Flora is oblivious to the excitement she has caused, but we are delighted to say she is now a mum and dad," said curator Kevin Buley. About 70 reptile species are known to reproduce asexually in a process known as parthenogenesis, but Flora and another dragon in England are the first documented Komodos to have a virgin birth. With fewer than 4,000 Komodos in the wild, researchers are very excited about the prospects. But for the time being, Flora isn't allowed to see her babies, which are up to 18 inches long - mostly tail -and weigh about 4 ounces. "She would try to eat anything that comes in front of her," Buley said.

[Last modified January 25, 2007, 01:38:26]