A team of wildlife experts from the San Diego Zoo have successfully inseminated a female Yangtze giant softshell turtle in China. The procedure is part of an international effort to save the highly endangered species by breeding new turtles.
The 100-year-old female turtle at the Suzhou Zoo is believed to be one of only four Yangtze giant softshell turtles (Rafetus swinhoei) left in the world. The zoo also cares for another male turtle, while the two remaining males are kept in a facility in Vietnam.
The artificial insemination effort has brought together scientists from different conservation groups around the world, including the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Bronx Zoo, Suzhou Zoo, Changsha Zoo, China Zoo Association and the San Diego Zoo Global.
The program agreement among the international groups was mediated by Dr. Lu Shunqing, the Reptile Program Director from WCS China. Lu has is also the coordinator of the breeding program for Rafetus swinhoei.
Dr. Gerald Kuchling, a member of the TSA and the organizer of the project, explained that they had to determine if the last known male giant softshell turtle in China is still capable of producing viable sperm despite its old age, or if the animal can still even inseminate the female turtle.
The scientists discovered that the reproductive organs of the male turtle have been damaged, possibly from an encounter decades ago.
However, reproductive physiology director Dr. Barbara Durrant from the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research said that half of the semen taken from the male giant softshell turtle can be used to inseminate the female turtle.
With natural breeding efforts having been unsuccessful in the past, the scientists were left to explore the option of artificial insemination in order to impregnate the female.
According to reports, both the male and female turtles are in good condition after the procedure. The scientists estimate that the female will lay her eggs in a few weeks. They will find out whether the eggs are fertile in a couple of weeks after that.
"The conservation world will once again be holding its collective breath until we know if this was successful," Rick Hudson, president of the Turtle Survival Alliance, said.
"The optimism we felt back in 2008 when the pair was mating and laying eggs has slowly faded as reality sank in that this pair would not breed without intervention."
