Global News - August 2007

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Rare antelope born from artificial insemination

Tue 28 August 2007 12:35 UK — Asia

Indian scientists have managed to produce a rare blackbuck fawn through non-surgical artificial insemination, reports suggest.

The Hindu newspaper claims that this is the first time anyone in the world has used this method to produce offspring of the threatened antelope.

Experts believe that just 38,000 blackbucks survive in the wild.

Now, a group of scientists from the Indian Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) have reported that a healthy female was born by one of the three blackbucks inseminated six months ago.

According to the newspaper, CCMB director Lalji Singh said: "We are so excited, we want to share the excitement with you.

"For the first time in the world, [a] blackbuck was produced through assisted reproductive technologies."

While artificial insemination is not commonly practiced on wild animals, it is routinely used on domesticated creatures. The CCMB successfully convinced environmentalists and the Indian government that the technique could help the species survive.

In India, blackbucks are threatened because of poaching, predators, habitat destruction and over grazing.

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