Lack of a mate will not stand in the way of breeding of wild animals in the Thiruvananthapuram zoo or any other zoo in the country if the plans of the zoo authorities here come to fruition.
The zoo, in association with the Delhi zoo, is working on assisted reproduction of animals. Says Jacob Alexander, veterinarian at the zoo here, “In many zoos, there may be no mate for an animal. Some may have a pair of animals, say tigers, and all the young tigers there may be the pair’s offspring. In such cases, the inbreeding coefficient is high. The survival of the animals is at risk, for they may suffer from congenital deformities.”
Assisted breeding as envisaged by Project Joy will help curb this. First, the male will be anaesthetized, and a probe inserted into its rectum. A series of electric pulsations will be given. When it ejaculates, the semen will be collected in a glass jar and processed. This can be done in two ways – chilled or frozen. Frozen semen may be good for a long period, but in the case of chilled semen, which has a limited shelf life, the female will have to be kept in heat till the semen is inserted into it.
The plan is to adopt the chilled technique for the time being.
Assisted breeding will first be done in African cape buffaloes. The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology-Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species, Hyderabad, has been approached for its support. The Centre has perfected electro ejaculation in animals and has worked with wild buffaloes, Dr. Alexander says.
Small zoos find it difficult to increase their animal collection as they do not have enough numbers to perform an exchange. And the Central Zoo Authority norms make it mandatory for zoos to give away some animals in return for the animals they want. Also, animals given on breeding loan may not mate, owing to varying temperaments. Assisted breeding may play a huge role in such cases. Lack of technical expertise may prove to be a hurdle though, he says.
With the two zoos having reached a consensus on going ahead with the process, what remains is for a project report to be formulated and work to start.
