Bug helps monitor pregnancy of elephant

"This is where the triatomid bug comes in. It is let loose on Yasmin's skin, gorges on blood for 10 or 15 minutes and then falls off to be collected by the handlers, said Mr Oosterweghel.

"The bugs have successfully collected several samples and the handlers were confident the technique will alert them when Yasmin goes into labour.

"The bugs can be applied "free range" by letting them alight on the animal or by introducing them in a small gauze-covered "pot".

"In free-range application, a thread is sometimes attached so that when the engorged bug drops off it can easily be found.

"The need to avoid escapees stems from the fact the North [b]...

Bug helps monitor pregnancy of elephant

"This is where the triatomid bug comes in. It is let loose on Yasmin's skin, gorges on blood for 10 or 15 minutes and then falls off to be collected by the handlers, said Mr Oosterweghel.

"The bugs have successfully collected several samples and the handlers were confident the technique will alert them when Yasmin goes into labour.

"The bugs can be applied "free range" by letting them alight on the animal or by introducing them in a small gauze-covered "pot".

"In free-range application, a thread is sometimes attached so that when the engorged bug drops off it can easily be found.

"The need to avoid escapees stems from the fact the North American triatomid bug, collected on the Baja peninsula in Mexico, has a notorious southern cousin. Known as the "kissing bug" because it bites the lips of sleeping people, it spreads the potentially fatal Chagas disease, endemic in South and Central America where up to 24 million people are infected."

© 2007 The Irish Times