Reproductive status of endemic felid species in Latin American zoos and implications for ex situ conservation

Abstract

Reproductive evaluations were conducted on 185 male cats representing eight endemic Latin American species that were maintained in 44 zoos and private facilities in 12 Latin American countries. Reproductive assessments (testicular measures, ejaculate quality, and blood testosterone/cortisol concentration) were used to establish normative values for large-and small-sized cats in Latin American collections. Data also were analyzed using multiple regression to study the impact of proven breeder status, diet, and various animal housing combinations. Most felids (495%) in the survey were of wild-born origin, and o20% had produced offspring in captivity. Larger felids had bigger testes and produced more semen, but tended to produce low-sperm-density ejaculates. The ejaculates of small felids were more sperm-concentrated, but contained fewer total spermatozoa. Sperm motility was unrelated to species size, and certain species (puma, margay, tigrina, and jaguarundi) consistently produced few (o40%) normal sperm forms. Across species, 450% of males had low sperm counts (o1 million total sperm per ejaculate). Among large cats (jaguars and pumas), proven breeders had larger (Po0.05) testes, greater semen volume, and more normal sperm than nonbreeders. Males on adequate diets had higher (Po0.05) circulating cortisol. Among small-sized felids, proven breeders had higher (Po0.05) testosterone, and males housed alone or paired with a conspecific female had more (Po0.05) total sperm per ejaculate and greater (Po0.05) seminal and testicular volumes. Fifty-nine ejaculates (potentially representing B100 artificial insemination (AI) or 26,000 in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures) were cryopreserved for a felid genome resource bank. In conclusion, breeding success and reproductive traits for many endemic felids in Latin American zoos appear to be suboptimal, and likely would benefit from improvements in diet and exhibitry. Technology transfer and continued training of zoo staff and scientists in Latin American countries are essential if these zoos are to achieve their tremendous conservation potential for felids and other threatened endemic species.

Nutritional Factors Affecting Semen Quality in Felids

“…27 Reproductive Of the 185 male cats assessed, the level of successful captive breeding was low, with only 37 males (20%) classified as proven breeders (produced at least one offspring). 27 The majority of these proven breeders were jaguars, pumas, and ocelots.…”

“…27 Reproductive Of the 185 male cats assessed, the level of successful captive breeding was low, with only 37 males (20%) classified as proven breeders (produced at least one offspring). 27 The majority of these proven breeders were jaguars, pumas, and ocelots. Reproductive evaluations of these 185 males revealed that 131 males (71%) had sperm in their ejaculates; however, the mean number of sperm/ejaculate for each species was low compared with counterpart values measured in U.S. institutions.…”

Comparison of methods for determination of nutrient digestibility of a dry kibble diet for ocelots

“…In the last decades, the wild population of ocelots (Leopardus pardalis Linnaeus, 1758) has drastically declined (Murray & Gardner 1997), and one of the ways to conserve the species is keeping genetically viable ex situ populations in facilities such as wild life breeding centers and zoos (Swanson 2003, Cuarón 2005.…”

Contenção farmacológica do gato-do-mato-pequeno, Leopardus tigrinus, para colheita de sêmen, pela associação de tiletamina zolazepam e xilazina

“…Diversos protocolos anestésicos foram propostos para colheita de sêmen em felídeos domésticos e selvagens (Platz Jr & Seager 1978, Howard 1993, Selmi et al 2001, Axnér & Linde-Forsberg 2002, Swanson et al 2003, porém alguns pesquisadores relataram problemas na realização do procedimento. Dificuldades como contaminação por urina, diminuição no volume do ejaculado, ejaculação retrógrada para a bexiga, planos anestésicos inadequados e ineficácia de algumas colheitas estão entre os problemas mais citados (Morais et al 2002, Queiroz 2003, Tebet 2004.…”

“…Em dois dos três animais foi necessária a administração complementar de tiletamina e zolazepam. Swanson et al (2003) relataram utilização da associação de tiletamina e zolazepam (5,0-10,0mg/kg, i.m.) para colheita de sêmen em felídeos neotropicais, informando que tal protocolo produziu plano anestésico adequado para eletroejaculação em todas as espécies, com exceção do puma (Puma concolor) e do gato-mourisco (Puma yagouaroundi).…”