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Roger Williams Park Zoo has embarked on a quest to breed "Alice", one of three African elephants at the zoo. On two occasions, once in February and once in May, one of the world’s foremost Elephant Reproductive Specialists, Dr. Dennis Schmitt, DVM, PhD, Board Certified Veterinary Reproductive Specialist from Missouri State University, performed artificial insemination in hopes for elephant calf.
Breeding elephants is an important initiative that will help to not only grow the North American captive population but also contribute to efforts to save elephants in the wild from extinction.
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The first attempt
The first attempt was made on Saturday, February 3 with sperm provided by a bull (male) elephant from the Pittsburgh Zoo. Although attempts were also scheduled for Sunday and Monday, viable samples from donor bulls were unable to be obtained on those days. This three day timeframe was scheduled to coincide with Alice’s estimated day of ovulation, Sunday, to provide the best possible chance of a successful fertilization.
And the results are in...
Animal care staff at the zoo had to wait three months – the duration of an elephant’s reproductive cycle – to determine that the first insemination procedure was not successful. Blood hormone tests conducted mid-May confirmed the negative result. Zoo officials started working out the logistics for a second attempt.
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again
The second attempt was made on Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20 to allow for the greatest possibility of conception. Sperm was collected from carefully selected bulls at the Pittsburgh Zoo, Jacksonville Zoo and Indianapolis Zoo and flown to the zoo on each day of the procedure, as it must be collected just hours prior to use in order to ensure its viability. It won’t be known if this latest insemination was successful until sometime in August. The total gestation time for elephants is 22 months, the longest of any mammal.
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