Big News for CREW

Sand Cat Kittens Born Following In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer Procedures in the United Arab Emirates!

Two Kittens Produced as Part of Global Conservation Program for this Threatened Wild Cat Species

Two healthy sand cat kittens (Felis margarita) were born on Dec. 13th, 2009 to a five-year old female sand cat housed at the Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort (AWPR) in the United Arab Emirates following a 66 day gestation. These kittens – both females - are the first sand cats ever produced by in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. These reproductive technologies are being developed and applied in sand cats by Dr. Jason Herrick, Assistant Professor in Veterinary Biosciences at the University of Illinois and Dr. Bill Swanson, CREW’s Director of Animal Research, as part of a global conservation program in collaboration with the AWPR.

Sand cats are a small-sized (2-3 kg body weight) desert-adapted species native to the United Arab Emirates, other Middle Eastern countries and Northern Africa. They are included on Appendix II of CITES and listed as “Near Threatened” on the IUCN Red List. However, very little research has been conducted with wild populations so knowledge of their ecology and true population status is severely limited. Wild populations of sand cats are thought to still exist in the UAE but there is a critical need for field studies to assess the status of these animals.

Globally, approximately 200 sand cats are maintained in captivity but there is little coordination in management of regional populations in Middle Eastern, North American and European zoos. The AWPR houses almost as many sand cats – 34 animals – as are maintained in all North American zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). The AWPR is working with CREW and the AZA’s Sand Cat Species Survival Plan in developing a global management program which would include periodic genetic exchange of sand cats between North American and Middle Eastern zoological parks. Our recent success with in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer in sand cats may allow frozen embryos and semen to be moved between countries as an alternative to transporting living sand cats internationally.

The success of the reproductive procedures is the culmination of several years of research by Drs. Herrick and Swanson in North American zoos, first characterizing the basic reproductive biology of sand cats and then developing semen collection, freezing and in vitro fertilization protocols for this species. For the procedures at the AWPR, five female sand cats were treated with hormones to induce follicle growth on the ovaries and allow recovery of oocytes using a minimally-invasive laparoscopic technique. A total of 70 oocytes were recovered and inseminated with sperm collected from three males, resulting in production of 50 embryos (70% fertilization). Twenty-one of the embryos were transferred using laparoscopy into the oviducts of four synchronized sand cat recipients, producing the one pregnancy and two kittens. The remaining embryos were frozen and imported to the U.S. for use with embryo transfer procedures in North American zoos as part of the global management program. Future research at the AWPR will include using frozen semen collected from sand cat males in North American zoos and possibly from wild males in the UAE for additional in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer procedures.