Conservation triumph
First lion cubs ever born via non-surgical artificial insemination
A LIONESS at the Ukutula Conservation Centre (UCC) and Biobank in the North West Province has given birth to the world’s first two cubs conceived via non-surgical artificial insemination (AI).
Using fresh semen collected from an adult male lion at the same facility, the groundbreaking achievement was part of study conducted by scientists from the University of Pretoria on the reproductive physiology of the female African lion, and the development of AI protocols for this species, which could be used as a baseline for other endangered large wild felines.
Although African lions normally breed quite well in captivity, the wild population is highly fragmented and suffers progressively from isolation and inbreeding.
Indiscriminate killing and prosecution,
habitat loss and prey depletion, epidemic diseases, poaching and trophy hunting threaten the extinction of these wild populations.
The African lion population is estimated to have decreased from 1.2 million individuals in 1800 to about 25 000 in 2016, and 18 000 in 2018.
This is a decrease of more than 98% over 220 years, with a decline in numbers of more than 60% just over the last 25 years.
The African lion is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species, with the West African lion sub-population considered critically endangered and the Asiatic lion is also considered endangered in the wild.
According to Dr Isabel Callealta, a qualified veterinarian from Spain and PhD candidate at the University of Pretoria, the team now has novel
data for the African lion’s reproduction physiology.
“This, together with the success of the AI births of the lion cubs, not only celebrates a world-first achievement, but has laid the foundation for effective non-surgical AI protocols for this species, using both fresh and frozen-thawed sperm,” she said.
According to the researchers, the application of these new techniques could provide a faster and broader diversification and distribution of the genetics, and a reduction of disease transmission as well as independence from animal’s translocation for breeding purposes.
Ukutula owner and founder of the UCC and Biobank, Willi Jacobs said there could be little doubt that wildlife conservation through education and ethical scientific research was the most suitable, long-term solution for the Earth’s conservation challenges and dwindling wildlife populations.