Reproductive performance of the largest captive Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus ) population in Sri Lanka
| Autor: | Janine L. Brown, B.M.A.O. Perera, P. G. A. Pushpakumara, R.C. Rajapakse |
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| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Male
0106 biological sciences Aging Veterinary medicine Breeding program 040301 veterinary sciences Placenta Birth weight Elephants Population Ice calving 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences 0403 veterinary science Endocrinology Elephas Food Animals Pregnancy Asian elephant Animals Sex Ratio education Sri Lanka education.field_of_study biology Parturition 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences General Medicine Abortion Veterinary Stillbirth biology.organism_classification Pregnancy Animal Gestation Female Animal Science and Zoology Sex ratio |
| Zdroj: | Animal Reproduction Science. 174:93-99 |
| ISSN: | 0378-4320 |
| Popis: | The Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage (PEO) in Sri Lanka maintains one of the largest captive Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus maximus ) populations in the world, with a total of 79 animals (45 females and 34 males) at present. It was established in 1975 as an orphanage for rescued wild calves, and commenced natural breeding under controlled conditions when they reached breeding age. This study summarizes reproductive data of 65 live births from 38 years of records at PEO. The age at first calving (n=31) was 14.6±0.7years, and the numbers of females giving birth two, three, four and five times were 21, 8, 4 and 2, with corresponding inter-birth intervals (IBI) of 4.9±0.3, 4.8±0.5, 7.9±1.9 and 5.7±0.5years, respectively. Females giving birth to males (5.7±2.2years) had longer IBIs compared to birthing female calves (4.7±1.1years). The average gestation for 18 pregnancies with known conception dates was 667±11days. The average birth weight was similar for male (83.1±4.6kg; n=14) and female (82.8±8.4kg; n=6) calves. Sex ratio for live births was 36 male:29 female and not different from 1:1; however, more males (10/14) were born after a second parity. Calf mortality and stillbirth rates were low: 7.6% and 4.4%, respectively. This study highlights the successful breeding program at the PEO, providing baseline reproductive data that can aid in improving breeding of other elephants managed under captive conditions. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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