A BABOON named Lucky is responsible for a baby boom at Flamingo Land Zoo, near Malton.

The five-year-old, who was the only male to escape capture during a sterilisation programme last year, is now the proud father of five babies.

"The baboon population was getting so large last year we'd carried out vasectomies on all the males - or at least we thought we had," said zoo administration officer Sean Drayton.

"It was a surprise when we found five females were pregnant. It was obvious we had missed one male. The oldest baby is about four weeks so they are all very little."

The chances of Lucky being picked out for sterilisation are slim, admitted Mr Drayton.

"Baboons are notoriously difficult to capture," he explained.

"It is a major operation which involves a team of people. You can't just knock it out with a tranquilliser because the others will just huddle around it.

"I think we'll leave him for now and see how he gets on."

Updated: 11:55 Wednesday, August 08, 2001