Cincinnati Zoo will try to assist a lifeless ocelot sire a brand new era

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (Crew) is up to something new.

The crew collected genetic material from a deceased Texas ocelot that will be used in an upcoming artificial insemination procedure. That means good things for this dwindling species.

Wild Texas ocelots are hard to come by, officials said. After the 9-year-old ocelot was hit by a car in May, officers in Texas worked quickly to ensure the crew could collect useful genetic material.

More:Cincinnati Zoo Scientists to Thank Artificial Insemination for Ocelot Kittens

“We knew that any chance of success depended on collecting the cat and getting the sample to the Cincinnati Zoo as absolutely as possible,” said Dr. Hilary Swarts, wildlife biologist for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Swarts was informed of the ocelot’s death, and after finding it, transported it on ice to Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas.

“With the help of senior zoo veterinarian Dr. Thomas deMaar, the testicles were removed and chilled with ice packs for overnight transport to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. The next morning, ~ 36 hours after the male’s death, the broadcast arrived Crew where Dr. Bill Swanson processed the tissues for sperm collection, “officials said.

The crew said enough genetic material had been collected for 20 artificial insemination procedures.

“It’s just amazing that 36 hours earlier in Texas we were able to get such a high quality semen sample from a wildcat that was hit by a car,” said Dr. Bill Swanson, Director of Animal Welfare Research at Crew. It is estimated that 80 individuals remain in their natural habitat in Texas, so the importance of this specimen and the hope it represents for the species cannot be overstated. ”

Scientists will soon find out if their efforts were worth it.

The crew will use the seeds of the deceased ocelot for an artificial insemination on July 28th at the ABQ BioPark in Albuquerque.

“If the AI ​​is successful and offspring are born in October, it will be the first time kittens are produced with frozen wild ocelot sperm,” crew officials said. “If the AI ​​is successful by the end of this month, the offspring will help expand the genetic diversity of ocelots maintained in zoos by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Ocelot Species Survival Plan and, for the first time, kitten feasibility using frozen semen to produce from the endangered ocelot population of Texas. “