Melbourne Zoo S Super-stud Could Help Save Species

Thanks to advances in the freezing technique and what Robert Hermes from Germany's Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research calls a semen extender recipe , elephant sperm can now survive being plunged into minus 50 degree temperatures.
Berlin-based Dr Hermes, in Australia to work with staff at Melbourne Zoo, said the new formula protected the cell membrane, preventing damage during freezing and thawing.
Bong Su is just the second bull in the world to participate in such a project and it is hoped the pioneering work will increase survival chances of the endangered species and provide a boost to the elephant's global gene pool.
With his accommodating nature and high sperm count, Bong Su is the sort of elephant most zoos would be proud to call a resident. Boasting an average sperm count of one to 1.5 billion per millilitre compared with regular elephant fertility of 800 to 900 million per millilitre he is among just a handful of breeding males in captivity worldwide.
Melbourne Zoo curator Jan Steele said in some samples, more than 90 per cent of Bong Su's sperm was alive. Even his thawed sperm count is more than 70 per cent, which is high, she said.
Getting a sperm donation from a five-tonne elephant is a four-person job.
Yesterday morning Bong Su was guided into a pen by his carers. One carer was positioned at his head, a second at his tail while a third was on stand-by with a long-handled tool to catch the deposit in a vial at the base of a plastic-lined container.
A fourth carer, wearing a generous layer of green plastic, was blessed with the task of getting elbow-deep up the animal's rear to empty out the bowel before using warm water to rinse the interior of the bowel clean. Only then does the prostate massage begin. Continued...
Page 1 2 Single Page View