Excitement is mounting among rhino watchers as Sita, Paignton Zoo's pregnant black rhino, prepares for the long awaited birth of her calf. Over the past four weeks the video webcam on the BBC Devon website has been pulling in thousands of viewers every day - with some users now addicted to their daily dose of rhino action. With the birth predicted to be just hours away, the webcam now has a human operator overnight to select the best shots from the two available cameras. A rota of Paignton Zoo, BBC staff and students studying at the zoo are staying at the controls all through the night to make sure you don't miss the exciting moment. To allow us to get better shots of Sita sleeping, we've now switched on the infra-red lights on the night camera.
 | | A heavily pregnant Sita resting |
This means the images are in black and white with some loss of detail. It's a compromise, but the infra-red view gives us a better choice of angles and reaches parts of her enclosure where there are no lights. The webcam offers five minute chunks of on-demand video updated every 15 minutes. The zoo felt more comfortable with a recorded webcam rather than a live feed in case there are complications during the birth. We hope to offer a short on-demand video showing the birth itself for those who miss the live event, together with shots of the calf and her mother.
 | | The BBC's Andrew Brown checks the shot |
The project was made possible by a link-up with the BBC 1 South West Inside Out TV programme which will be featuring exclusive footage on the first Friday slot after the baby rhino is born. Intriguingly the rhino cam has caught the imagination of Radio 4 Archers fans - who have a thread running on their message board dedicated to Sita with more than 2,000 messages! Birth facts - Sita's keepers expect the birth to happen during the night
- Generally rhinos give birth standing up
- Sita is showing physical signs of being ready to give birth
- The zoo hopes to let nature take its course
- Keepers won't intervene unless they have to
- There is no due day
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