Turtle Survival

needed to facilitate egg fertilization. Given this
predicament, artificial insemination is now the
only chance to produce offspring. Knowing this,
we placed all collected semen into the urodeum
in the cloaca of the female.
Artificial insemination of Rafetus swinhoei, 06 May 2015. PHOTO CREDIT: PAUL CALLE
lished a protocol using the method of electroejaculation
to collect the semen of large softshell the Rafetus female and the subsequent loss of an-
scheduled attempt at artificial insemination with
turtles, and provided important preliminary other breeding season. The delay also threatened
information on semen quality (Kuchling, G., to terminate the Rafetus breeding program in
Shunqing, L., and King, E. 2011: The fourth year China as the female was supposed to move back
of Rafetus swinhoei breeding attempts in China. to the Changsha Zoo later this year.
Turtle Survival 2011:78-79).
Further investigation occurred in July 2014, WORKING AGAINST TIME
as Kaitlin Croyle of the San Diego Zoo Institute Despite reduced chances for success, we
for Conservation Research, examined the vitelline went ahead with the challenging procedure on
membrane of some of the Rafetus eggs. Her tests 06 May 2015 – the world’s first AI attempt with
failed to detect any sperm heads, suggesting that the only known female of a species is obviously
no fertilization had occurred. Questions regarding
the viability of the male turtle’s sperm and more common species.
a problematic endeavor without prior trials in a
whether he was able to successfully copulate and The team included Chinese scientists and
inseminate the female now had to be answered. veterinarians from the Changsha Zoo, Suzhou
Zoo, China Zoo Society, Chengdu Giant Panda
AGREEMENT TO MOVE FORWARD
Breeding Centre, Dr. Barbara Durrant of the San
FACES A SETBACK
Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research,
In order to provide urgently needed answers and Dr. Paul Calle of the Wildlife Conservation
to these questions and move the breeding program
forward, the Changsha Zoo, Suzhou Zoo, Electroejaculation was successfully per-
Society - Bronx Zoo.
China Zoo Society, TSA, and WCS-China signed formed following the Amyda protocol. The good
a memorandum of understanding to perform news was that the male is still producing sperm
semen collection and evaluation in the spring of despite his old age. The relatively small volume
2015. The agreement specifically assured that if of collected semen contained motile sperm,
motile sperm could be demonstrated during the although in low density and with many damaged
evaluation, the team was to perform immediate spermatozoa (e.g. broken tails). The bad news
artificial insemination of the Rafetus female. was that his penis is heavily scarred, relatively
Artificial insemination has not been demonstrated
to be successful in any turtle species. penis of softshell turtles, including seminal
thin, and the complex structures of the glans
Planned trials to establish how to best perform grooves, are missing.
artificial insemination with a similarly large,
Due to his severely damaged and scarred
female Amyda, in early 2015, were cancelled due penis, the male appears unable to either copulate
to unfortunate, last minute obstacles. The team successfully with the female or to transfer semen
was faced with the possibility of postponing the into the area of the female cloaca where it is
NEW INFORMATION MAY BREED SUCCESS
Frustratingly, the eggs of three subsequent
clutches in 2015 were again infertile. We knew
from the beginning that low semen quantity and
sperm quality reduced chances for success, but now
it appears that specific sperm placement may also
be important. Further study of the penis morphology
of big softshell turtles suggests that semen may
have to be deposited directly into both oviducts,
which open independently into the cloaca.
We speculate that low semen quality may have
been related to the fact that semen collection took
place toward the end of the mating season, which
commences in late September and October, and
ends in May. We plan to repeat semen collection
and artificial insemination in October 2015 to take
advantage of the natural mating cycle and hope
for better semen quantity and quality.
Prior to the October semen collection, we
plan trials with females of other species of large
softshell turtles to find out how best to locate the
oviduct openings into the cloaca for semen placement.
We’re confident the female Rafetus, once
correctly inseminated, can then store sperm until
the next breeding season in the spring of 2016.
ANOTHER RAFETUS IN THE RED RIVER?
A large softshell turtle, observed by local people
in the Chinese part of the Red River, was spotted
again in April 2015. Presumed to be a Rafetus, it
has not been captured despite intensive trapping.
The effort to locate another breeding individual is
critical as global turtle experts work against time to
save this highly endangered species.
Contacts: Gerald Kuchling, Chelonia Enterprises, 28
Tokay Lane, The Vines, WA 6069, Australia, Gerald.
Kuchling@uwa.edu.au; Lu Shunqing WCS China, Life
and Environment Sciences College, Huangshan University,
No. 39, Xihai Road, Huangshan, Anhui Province, P.
R. China 245041, lusq@hsu.edu.cn
Acknowledgement: For technical assistance on 06 May
2015 we thank: Barbara Durrant (San Diego Zoo), Paul
Calle (WCS), Emily King (TSA), Steve Platt (WCS); Chen
Daqing, Di Min, Sun Aiguo, Tang Enen, Tang Deqi, Chen
Jing Han Shichang, Liu Xing Feng Qi, Lu Fang (Suzhou
Zoo); Yan Xiahui, Lu Qingtao, Yang Junlong (Changsha
Zoo); Liu Nonglin (China Zoo Society); and Liu Hong,
Liu JIawen, Wang Juan (Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding
Centre). In addition we thank Peter Praschag and Thomas
Hildebrandt for the opportunity to explore the penis
morphology of some softshell turtles. We acknowledge
financial support by Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden
and the Turtle Conservation Fund (TCF).
a publication of the turtle survival alliance 35 visit us online at www.turtlesurvival.org