Asian (Elaphus maximus) and African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in North America are not self-sustaining. Within fifty years, Asian elephants will be demographically extinct if fecundity does not increase four to eight-fold.5 Reproduction and juvenile survivorship in African elephants must increase significantly in the next ten years to promote a self-sustaining population.4 Limited resources as well as an ever-aging population underscore the urgency to prioritize and breed reproductively sound animals. Major reasons for low reproductive rates are undiagnosed reproductive disorders in females2 and reproductive dysfunction in males.3 Endocrine evaluation in conjunction with ultrasound examination and behavioral assessment are needed to identify and treat causes of reproductive failure.1 Routine breeding soundness examinations including trans-rectal ultrasound imaging, endocrine profiling and semen analysis provide data for efficiently making breeding decisions for reproductively fit animals as well as evaluating therapeutic interventions for reproductively unsound animals (e.g., flat-liners, poor semen quality).
A standardized approach for evaluating elephants’ reproductive potentials simplifies processing of data from many different animals. Information gathered from standard breeding soundness examinations, once entered into an inter-relational database, may through queries answer population based questions. Attendees at the first, second and third ultrasound workshops held by Dr. Dennis Schmitt at Riddle’s Elephant Breeding Farm and Sanctuary in 2000 and 2001 created a breeding soundness examination (BSE) form for evaluating male and female elephants. The BSE form documents findings from trans-rectal ultrasound imaging, semen analysis, retrospective endocrine assays and breeding history. An inter-relational database (Access-MS Office 2000) was created to organize data in multiple tables permitting querying of data and tracking of trends.
In this presentation I review the reproductive cycle and anatomy of elephants, the more common ultrasound findings and diseases that may impair fecundity as well as successful methods of artificial insemination.
References
1. Brown J.L., 2000. Reproductive Endocrine Monitoring of Elephants: An Essential Tool for Assisting Captive Management. Zoo Biol. 19:347-367.
2. Hildebrandt T.B., Goritz F., Pratt N., Brown J.L., Montali R.J., Schmitt D. L., Fritsch G. and Hermes R. 2000. Ultrasonography of the Urogenital Tract in Elephants (Loxodonta africana and Elephas maximus): An Important Tool for Assessing Female Reproductive Function. Zoo Biol. 19:321-332.
3. Hildebrandt T.B., Hermes R., Pratt N., Fritsch G., Blottner S., Schmitt D.L., Ratanakorn P., Brown J.L., Rietschel W. and Goritz F. 2000. Ultrasonography of the Urogenital Tract in Elephants (Loxodonta africana and Elephas maximus): An Important Tool for Assessing Male Reproductive Function. Zoo Biol. 19:333-345.
4. Olson D., Wiese R.J. 2000. State of North American African Elephant Population and Projections for the Future. Zoo Biol. 19:311-320.
5. Wiese R.J., 2000. Asian Elephants Are Not Self-sustaining in North America. Zoo Biol. 19:299-309.