Brazilian and American researchers perform artificial insemination procedures on a jaguar at Jundiai's Mata Ciliar Association conservation centre, Brazil, Thursday Oct. 28, 2021. The fertility program is designed to test a reproduction system on captive jaguars, and then later transfer it to wild felines. Wild cats are more at risk from deforestation and fires. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner
Brazilian and American scientists tranquilized Thursday a wild-born female Jaguar that lives in a protected area of Sao Paulo state. Bianca, a 110-pound cat, is expected to make history for the second consecutive year.
Bianca gave birth in 2019 to the first jaguar cub born via artificial insemination. The 8-year old could now once more help preserve her species. If all goes according to plan, she could become pregnant with frozen semen.
According to Lindsey Vansandt (a theriogenologist and specialist in veterinary reproduction medicine at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden), frozen semen is easy to transport. This would help preserve jaguars' genetic diversity.
Vansandt said to The Associated Press that the population "sort of gets smaller and smaller" and that inbreeding can have many bad consequences. He spoke out shortly after Vansandt performed the surgery on Bianca, who was unconscious while he was sitting on a surgical table.
Vansandt stated, "If we can take the sperm of one male and inseminate another female, we can keep their genes moving and keep them more healthy."
For years, wildlife experts from the Cincinnati Zoo and the Federal University of Mato Grosso have developed an insemination program to help the largest feline in the Western Hemisphere. They assist individuals who have been rescued from habitat destruction in the Amazon rainforest, Cerrado Savanna, and Pantanal Wetlands. All of these areas have experienced a rise in deforestation, fires, and other environmental problems in recent years.
A sedated jaguar is taken from its cage to undergo artificial insemination at the Mata Ciliar Association conservation centre, Jundiai (Brazil), Thursday, October 28, 2021. The fertility program is designed to test a reproduction system on captive jaguars, and then later transfer it to wild felines. Wild cats are more at risk from deforestation and fires. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner
Last year, some jaguars were badly hurt by fires in the Pantanal. They needed transport to specialist facilities. Others died or were forced to flee.
Cristina Adania, Mata Ciliar coordinator and veterinarian, said, "Look at what happened in the Pantanal. The Cerrado." "They are being killed before they even get to treat them. So something must be done."
A study by Panthera, wild cat conservation group, and the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, and their partners, found that nearly 1,500 jaguars were killed by fires and habitat loss in Brazil's Amazon between 2016 and 2019.
Panthera says that displaced jaguars will not thrive in new environments. This could be because they are not familiar with the territory of another territorial animal. They are also not familiar with the best places to hunt prey. This can make them vulnerable to ranchers.
Intubating a jaguar to prepare for artificial insemination at the Mata Ciliar Association conservation centre, Jundiai (Brazil), Thursday, October 28, 2021. The fertility program is designed to test a reproduction system on captive jaguars, and then later transfer it to wild felines. Wild cats are more at risk from deforestation and fires. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner
After undergoing artificial insemination at Jundiai's Mata Ciliar Association conservation centre, on Thursday Oct. 28, 2021, a sedated jaguar was taken to a waiting vehicle. He will then be transported back to his habitat. The fertility program is designed to test a reproduction system on captive jaguars, and then later to bring it to wild felines who are more at risk from deforestation and fires. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner
Brazilian and American researchers perform artificial insemination procedures for a jaguar at Mata Ciliar Association conservation centre, Jundiai (Brazil), Thursday, October 28, 2021. The fertility program is designed to test a reproduction system on captive jaguars, and then later transfer it to wild felines. Wild cats are more at risk from deforestation and fire. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner
Intubating a jaguar to prepare for artificial insemination at the Mata Ciliar Association conservation centre, Jundiai (Brazil), Thursday, October 28, 2021. The fertility program is designed to test a reproduction system on captive jaguars, and then later transfer it to wild felines. Wild cats are more at risk from deforestation and fires. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner
The researcher holds the jaguar's paw as it undergoes artificial insemination at Jundiai conservation center of the Mata Ciliar Association, Brazil, Thursday Oct. 28, 2021. The fertility program is designed to test a reproduction system on captive jaguars, and then later transfer it to wild felines. Wild cats are more at risk from deforestation and fires. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner
After undergoing artificial insemination at Jundiai's Mata Ciliar Association conservation centre, on Thursday Oct. 28, 2021, a sedated jaguar was placed in a cage. The fertility program is designed to test a reproduction system on captive jaguars, and then later transfer it to wild felines. Wild cats are more at risk from deforestation and fires. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner
Intubating a jaguar to prepare for artificial insemination at the Mata Ciliar Association conservation centre, Jundiai (Brazil), Thursday, October 28, 2021. The fertility program is designed to test a reproduction system on captive jaguars, and then later transfer it to wild felines. Wild cats are more at risk from deforestation and fires. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner
A surgeon performs artificial insemination on a jaguar at Jundiai's Mata Ciliar Association conservation centre, Brazil, Thursday Oct. 28, 2021. The fertility program is designed to test a reproduction system on captive jaguars, and then later transfer it to wild felines. Wild cats are under increasing threat from deforestation and fire. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner
A sedated jaguar is taken to the Mata Ciliar Association conservation centre in Jundiai (Brazil) on Thursday, October 28, 2021, to undergo artificial insemination. The fertility program is designed to test a reproduction system on captive jaguars, and then later transfer it to wild felines. Wild cats are more at risk from deforestation and fires. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner
A jaguar that was freed from illegal captivity is seen at the Mata Ciliar Association conservation centre, Jundiai (Brazil), Thursday, October 28, 2021. This association helps animals who have been trafficked, victims of environmental disasters, or fires, and rehabs wild animals to allow them to return to their natural habitat. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner
A jaguar that had been rescued from illegal imprisonment walks on a tree trunk at Mata Ciliar Association conservation centre, Jundiai (Brazil), Thursday, October 28, 2021. The association helps animals who have been trafficked, victims of environmental disasters, or fires, and then rehabilitates wild animals to allow them to return to their natural habitat. Credit: AP Photo/Andre Penner
According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List, jaguars are considered "near threatened", a grade higher than vulnerable. However, its population is declining and its habitat is "severely fractured."
Bianca was still an Amazon cub when she was rescued by Mata Ciliar. Adania stated that she cannot be reintroduced into the wild like other wild-born cats at the Brazilian Center for the Conservation of Neotropical Felines. Tabatinga, another female jaguar at this facility, was also artificially inseminated Thursday.
Vansandt stated that jaguar semen can only be kept fresh for a couple of hours after being frozen. Frozen semen is a good option, but it can only be used for a few hours. It has a lower success rate with felines than for humans.
Bianca's case will be successful and it will eliminate the stress of transporting 300-pound carnivores to their mate in person. Adania stated that even if a jaguar is shipped, it's not guaranteed that it will get along well with its mate.
Vansandt stated, "This is good genetic diversity and also towards the larger goal of increasing jaguars." "The goal is to increase numbers to stabilize the population."
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