Fecal steroid hormone analysis as an indicator of reproductive function in the cheetah

Abstract

Techniques were developed and validated to measure fecal estrogen and progesterone concentrations of the female cheetah. Fecal samples were collected from seven mature females. Cheetahs were monitored before mating and continued until parturition. Four females had normal pregnancies, one conceived but the pregnancy resulted in spontaneous abortion, one was mated but apparently did not conceive and one was treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to induce follicular growth and ovulation. Vaginal superficial cells increased with increasing estrogen concentrations. Peak estrogen occurred one day postcopulation. Increases in fecal progesterone concentrations, indicative of ovulation, occurred after copulation and hormonally induced ovulation. For the first time reproductive function can be monitored in the cheetah using noninvasive sample collection. 0 1994 Wiley-Liss, 1nc.

Fecal Progestagens to Detect and Monitor Pregnancy in Captive Female Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus)

“…The 92.8 ± 0.4 day-pregnancy in our study was an average period, with previous studies reporting pregnancy periods of 89 days [12], 94.2 ± 0.5 days [3], 85-95 days [13] and 90-96 days [5]. A nonpregnant luteal phase was not observed throughout the present study period.…”

“…A previous report indicated that fecal progesterone decreased from 60-70 days of pregnancy in cheetahs, and it has been speculated that luteoplacental shift of the progesterone secretor might occur after 60 days of pregnancy [13]. In our study, the types of fecal progestagens showed no distinct difference among early (1-15 days), mid-(30-60 days) and late pregnancy (75-90 days) and among individuals.…”

“…It has been reported that the duration of fecal progestagen elevation in the mated nonpregnant luteal phase is 51.2 ± 3.5 days and that the duration is similar to that in the nonmated luteal phase after spontaneous ovulation, which occurs infrequently [3]. In cases of abortions, the progestagen level immediately returned to baseline [13,14]. The combination of our results and these previous reports indicates that successful pregnancy can be distinguished from nonpregnant luteal phase/abortion by fecal progestagen measurement, which enables detection of pregnancy after approximately 50 days from the last copulation.…”

Serum Progesterone and Estradiol-17.BETA. Concentrations, and Lapaloscopic Observations of the Ovary in the Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) with Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotropin and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Treatments.

“…After examining the relationship between the fluctuations in number and individual hormone levels in the blood, the leukocyte count in the vaginal smear was reported to indicate a cyclic change of 10.8 to 12.3 days on average. Eaton and Craig [5] reported from cheetah's behavioral patterns the estrous cycle to be approximately two weeks, but others, after measuring the sex steroid hormone content in feces, determined the cycle to be 3 to 4 weeks [2], thus failing to present consistent opinions. We [3] have, therefore, obtained and measured blood from pregnant and non-pregnant cheetahs over a long period of time.…”

Avaliação da eficiência da eletroforese capilar como técnica analítica na prospecção de metabólitos de esteróides em extratos fecais de onça-pintada (Panthera onca)

“…O estudo do metabolismo do estradiol em gatos domésticos (Felis catus) demonstrou que mais de 95% deste esteróide é excretado nas fezes (SHILLE et al, 1990(SHILLE et al, , 1984. Além do mais, muitos estudos têm sugerido que os metabólitos de estradiol e/ou a progesterona são quantificáveis em fezes de felídeos não-domésticos, guepardo, Acinonyx jubatus (CZEKALA et al, 1994GROSS, 1992); tigre, Panthera tigris ; leão, P. leo ; caracal, F.…”