 Cooling Off in Thailand
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Dec. 18, 2003 — Thailand has embarked on a program to artificially inseminate elephants in an effort to improve genetic variety in the dwindling herd, experts said Tuesday.
Nikorn Thongthip, a researcher from Kasetsart University west of Bangkok, said his team has developed a project to fertilize at least three domesticated Asian elephants, drawing from the world's first elephant sperm bank launched this year in the kingdom.
Similar efforts with two females have already failed but researchers held out hope for eventual success following experiments this year on artificial insemination and other preservation processes.
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Local news reports said 30 domesticated elephants had been prepared for the process.
The project follows efforts earlier this year by Thai conservationists, along with specialists from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC and Germany's Zoo Biology and Wild Life Research, to artificially inseminate elephants in northern Chiang Mai province.
"We are focusing on genetic variety rather than numbers, and we hope to help elephants who have problems breeding," Nikorn said.
Thailand's elephant herd stands at nearly 5,000 including 2,200 in the wild, but the insemination process — including semen collection — would be conducted exclusively from the country's domesticated elephants.
Experts this year warned that the wild population could be wiped out within 15 years if no action was taken.
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Name: Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
Primary Classification: Proboscidea (Elephants) Location: India and Southeast Asia. Habitat: Mainly tropical scrub forest. Also thick jungle and savannah. Diet: Mainly grasses. Also bark, roots, leaves, fruits, vines, shrubs and tree stems. Size: Up to 21 ft in length, 10 ft in height and 5.5 tons in weight. Description: Grayish to brown in color; sparse, coarse body hair; thick, dry skin; long trunk with single, finger-like projection; two bumps on forehead; columnar legs; large, fan-like ears; males have two long, ivory tusks. Cool Facts: An adult consumes more than 500 lbs of vegetation in a single day. Its trunk, which contains up to 100,000 muscles, can inhale and spray water, lift heavy objects, grasp small objects and detect minor variations in heat and texture. Conservation Status: Endangered Major Threats: Habitat loss and poaching. What Can I Do?: Visit the Elephant Help Project and Friends of the Asian Elephant for information on how you can help. |
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