Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden

The Lindner Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens will improve collections stewardship of zoo polar bears by conserving genetics, enhancing reproduction, and improving animal welfare. The captive population of polar bears is in decline globally due primarily to a low reproductive rate, and there are only 66 individuals in the nation's zoos. The zoo will create a permanent polar bear sperm bank by collecting and cryopreserving semen; monitoring and documenting the sexual maturation in the species to better drive breeding recommendations; and creating and employing a non-invasive pregnancy test to better manage the collection and provide enhanced animal welfare. Measures of project success will include the number of semen samples collected and cryopreserved, the number of juveniles monitored for sexual maturation, and the employment of a methodology to diagnose pregnancy in both pregnant and non-pregnant individuals. A minimum of three manuscripts in open-access journals will summarize project results for the field.