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The Al Ain Wildlife Park & Resort (AWPR) is increasing the genetic diversity of the world’s captive Sand cat population by using an assistive reproduction technique called In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer (IVF-ET) to breed Sand cats from collections in the United States to those at AWPR. This marks another important step forward in the Al Ain Wildlife Park & Resort’s program to conserve threatened cat species and other arid land carnivores such as the Arabian leopard.
Over the past nine months AWPR, in partnership with University of Illinois and the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, has reported several successes with Project Sand Cat. In January 2010 AWPR announced, the first-ever sand cat kittens were born as a result of IVF-ET procedures. In May 2010 AWPR exhibited a one-of-a-kind Sand cat mother kitten pair in its wildlife park.
This month AWPR and its conservation partners are proceeding with the second phase of Project Sand Cat. Embryos will be produced from the semen of Sand cat collections held in the United States and elsewhere with eggs harvested from Sand cats at AWPR. Despite the physical separation of these disparate sand cat populations, scientists at AWPR are able to implant the resulting embryos into recipient Sand cat mothers to produce kittens.
If the procedure results in the birth of kittens surviving into adulthood, the Sand cat populations of the UAE will thereby be genetically connected to their counterparts in the USA. These half-UAE half-USA Sand cats will technically be called “foundation stock” or “founders.” The foundation stock will be bred with other captive Sand cats to create genetically diverse offspring. There have been no founders in captive Sand cat populations for more than 15 years.
The Sand cats in the United States are originally from the wild populations in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where as those at AWPR’s originate from the UAE and Syria. “One of the goals of this phase of Project Sand Cat is to combine the genetic material of these genetically distinct populations to help strengthen the captive populations throughout the world,” said Farshid Mehrdadfar, Animal Collection Manger at AWPR.
In addition, later this month AWPR will give four Sand cats from its collection to zoological associations in the United States. Two male and two female sand cats will be flown to zoos in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas where they will become founders of a new Sand cat breeding program intended to further diversify the genetics of populations in the United States.
“The exchange of genetic material ensures the viability of the world’s captive animal populations,” explained Dr Mike Maunder, AWPR’s Chief Conservation and Collections Officer. “This exchange of genetic material across international boundaries is an important conservation tool and the goal of this program is to establish the science and extend it to other endangered arid land carnivores such as the Arabian leopard,” continued Dr. Maunder.
AWPR is utilizing international cooperation to conserve other endangered species, working with zoos in Europe and North America to study the genetic diversity of the world’s last remaining Scimitar-horned oryx. Through the conservation program the genetic diversity of the Scimitar horned oryx is ensured, building the strongest possibility of a successful reintroduction of this highly endangered animal to its former range.
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