MANUAL COLLECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SEMEN FROM ASIAN ELEPHANTS (ELEPHAS-MAXIMUS)

The implications of collecting semen from elephants for use in artific ial insemination programs are profound in the context of propagating c aptive elephants. Using a manual manipulation technique, semen was col lected and characterized from five adult Asian elephants (Elephas maxi mus) and ejaculate fluid was obtained from one castrated elephant bull . The penis was stimulated to protrusion and erection by rectal massag e of the pelvic portion of the urethra, During an ejaculatory response , massage was also directed onto the area of the ampulla of the ductus deferens, Sperm rich ejaculates were usually collected as a result of each ejaculatory contraction. Ejaculates were evaluated for spermatoz oal concentration and pH (when possible) and sperm rich fractions comb ined for determination of total volume. Mean total volume of each coll ection was 27.5 +/- 4.4 ml. Mean concentration of the first and second ejaculatory responses from a collection was 2.05 +/- 0.17 X 10(9) and 1.34 +/- 0.19 X 10(9) sperm/ml, respectively. Measurement of seminal pH revealed no significant differences between the fractions. Mean pH of the first and second ejaculatory responses were 7.05 +/- 0.07 and 7 .04 +/- 0.13. This method of collecting elephant sperm can be utilized for semen evaluation of bulls of unknown reproductive status in conju nction with other evaluation techniques (i.e. ultrasonographic, endocr inologic). It also has the potential for providing valuable genetic ma terial for genome resource banks and for use with assisted reproductiv e techniques like artificial insemination, (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B .V. All rights reserved.