Baby
dolphin first in Hong Kong
Posted
at BBC News
Scientists in Hong Kong
are celebrating the birth of the world's first ever artificially-conceived
dolphins.
The
two bottlenose dolphin calves, one male and one female,
are just a few weeks old and have yet to be named.
Staff
say they have been swimming in a large water-filled tank
in Hong Kong's Ocean Park, feeding on their mothers' milk
and are doing brilliantly.
Scientists
in Hong Kong have spent 12 years on the project. Similar
attempts to use artificial insemination techniques in
the United States have failed.
Ultrasound
breakthrough
But
new ultrasound scanning made it possible to predict exactly
when the mothers would ovulate. They were then injected
with sperm.
The
work may help preserve endangered species of dolphins
by allowing them to be bred in captivity.
It
will also mean that marine parks can artificially inseminate
their populations without having to catch more wild animals.
In-breeding
among captive dolphins is a problem in many aquariums.
The
scientists are now building up a dolphin sperm bank and
want to experiment with freezing samples so that they
can be sent anywhere in the world.
Copyright
© BBC News
Reprinted from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1411685.stm
| 
