T to understand the reproductive biology of cheetahs, and have learned, for example, that they produce more than 70% abnormally shaped sperm per ejaculate. Killer whales can be trained to provide daily urine samples, which can be tested for hormone fluctuations and reproductive activity. Then AI can be performed using sperm deposited by a combination of endoscopy and ultrasonography. In the case of the black-footed ferret, which used to range across America's Great Plains and which was reduced to only 18 individuals, we have used AI to produce offspring that have been used for reintroduction of this species back into nature."

In conclusion, Dr Wildt says that ART has played a vital role in conserving endangered species, but not necessarily in the way that was expected 30 years ago at the dawn of the technology. "In the late 1970s everyone believed that ART would be the salvation for zoos, that all animals would be produced in mass numbers by AI or embryo transfer. But then we learned the importance of the uniqueness of different species. So, I firmly believe that ART has provided us with a set of tools to understand how all these species are wonderfully bio-complex and different. In addition, there are the examples of where we have got it right giant pandas, black-footed ferrets and cheetahs where we now know enough so that we can begin to help conservationists to genetically manage rare populations."

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Contact: Mary Rice
mary.rice@blueprintpartners.be
European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology
27-Jun-2004

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