Fertility assessment of cheetah males with poor quality semen

Publication Type:
 Journal Article
Year of Publication:
 1993
Authors:
 D. G. Lindburg, B. S. Durrant, S. E. Millard, J. E. Oosterhuis
Publication/Journal:
 Zoo Biology
Publisher:
 A Wiley Company, Inc., Wiley Subscription Services
Keywords:
 , , , ,
ISBN:
 1098-2361
Abstract:

Abstract 10.1002/zoo.1430120109.abs Reports on semen quality of the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) indicate that high percentages of abnormal morphs and sperm concentrations, 10 times lower than in domestic cats, are found in all populations. These characteristics are believed to result from unusual genetic homozygosity, hypothesized to have been caused by passage of the species through one or more population bottlenecks during its recent history. In a sample of 12 captive-living males, we found semen characteristics to be equal or inferior to those previously reported for males living in other captive facilities. Ten of these males (83.3%) nevertheless produced pregnancies. Seventeen of 19 pregnancies resulted from matings during a single estrus. This examination of the reproductive potential of males having comparatively inferior ejaculate quality supports the suggestion that husbandry programs may be more significant than physiological impairment in causing the low birth rates of captive cheetahs. These results also have implications for ascertaining fertility thresholds in mammalian populations undergoing increased levels of inbreeding as a consequence of habitat deterioration. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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