Pregnant Pause for Elephant
Recent news from the Indianapolis Zoo was mammoth: the first baby
African elephant conceived through artificial insemination was delivered
successfully. IU School of Medicine's Mark Deeg, MD, PhD, played
a role.
Dr. Deeg, an endocrinologist and assistant professor in the Department
of Medicine, and technician Suzie Huffed were responsible for conducting
hormonal assays before the mother elephant, Kubwa, was inseminated
and throughout the two?year gestation period.
"Blood samples were evaluated for progesterone levels over
the course of the elephant's reproductive cycle," Dr. Deeg
explains. "Changes in levels induce ovulation, which in African
elephants occurs every other menstrual cycle."
Kubwa's progesterone level was monitored weekly after conception.
As the gestation cycle neared the two?year mark, Dr. Deeg watched
for a drop in that level, a sign that birth is approaching.
How do you get an African elephant pregnant? The usual way But
elephant moms in captivity may need an assist. Only twenty-seven
African elephants have been born in North America since they were
first imported in the nineteenth century, according to Indianapolis
Zoo officials. That's why many zoos are turning to artificial insemination.
Dr. Deeg said the School's endocrinology section has worked with
zoos in Atlanta, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Miami and New York City on
research and other projects related to metabolic monitoring of animals.
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