[A video-sensor system for predicting the time of parturition in the chimpanzee]

A system of predicting the time of parturition in the chimpanzee was developed to assure care of the newborn as soon as possible after delivery. To quantify activity, the number of times that a parturient chimpanzee crossed a sensor marker of a TV monitor was recorded by a videosensor on the market for crime prevention. The amount of activity increased remarkably just prior to parturition. A system using a personal pocket alarm ("beeper"), which rang automatically when the number of crossings by the chimpanzee exceeded a selected level within a certain period of time, was tested. In the present study, the threshold for sounding the alarm was set at 50 crossings within 10 minutes. As a result, the pocket alarm began to ring at about 40 minutes before parturition. This enabled us to be present at parturition and to tend to a newborn abandoned by its mother in one case. The present system could be useful to predict the time of parturition in the chimpanzee.