Double delivery for chimpanzee at N.M. zoo

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A chimpanzee at a New Mexico zoo has given birth to twins.

Keepers arriving at ABQ BioPark in Albuquerque on Tuesday found 38-year-old Elaine with two healthy babies. The zoo didn't specify the twins' gender.

Carol Nelson, a loyal zoo patron, was fascinated with the exhibit, CBS Albuquerque affiliate KRQE-TV reports.

"They're beautiful," she told KRQE-TV. "There's one that's brown, one that's black. One is a little bit bigger and has a lot of hair, and the other one's not quite so hairy, but they're beautiful, and they look very healthy."

Staff at the zoo knew Elaine was pregnant and suspected she was carrying more than one baby. She had gotten larger, and the chimp believed to be the father previously sired twins and triplets.

Female chimpanzees usually give birth to a single baby.

Keepers say the mother has enjoyed nestling with her infants against the exhibit's glass walls, where it is extra warm.

The zoo's last chimp baby, Kianga, was born in 2007.