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By Sarah Barnacle and R. Stickney
Thursday, Jun 6, 2013
SeaWorld San Diego
The chicks captured in this image from SeaWorld San Diego.
SeaWorld San Diego has announced it has successfully
produced the first penguins in the world conceived through artificial
insemination. "It's just amazing. It's an
incredible feeling not only to work with these amazing animals but to
know we're doing a lot of things that can help their species," said
Lauren DuBois, Assistant Curator of Birds.
On Thursday, DuBois unveiled one of
four Magellanic penguins believed to be the first successful result of
artificial insemination for any type of penguin.
There has been some work with artificial insemination with King penguins but that effort was unsuccessful. “Timing is everything, as you can imagine with this,” she said.
There were four eggs that hatched as
part of the project. DNA test results show two males inseminated three
different females which helps with genetic diversity according to
Dubois.
The chicks are being hand-raised in the world renowned nursery.
The SeaWorld and Busch Gardens
Reproductive Research Center at SeaWorld San Diego is paving the way
for reproductive management, including artificial insemination, sex
predetermination and semen preservation technologies. “Of the 18 species of penguins, 11
are considered endangered or threatened,” Dubois said. “We’re hoping
maybe this can also apply to those wild populations that are threatened
by a variety of man-made disasters."
Since the world’s first marine
mammal born through artificial insemination took place in early 2000,
SeaWorld and its collaborating zoological partners have seen the birth
of 36 animals, including beluga whales, dolphins, and killer whales.
The South American breed is a
welcomed attraction to SeaWorld San Diego, offering visitors a unique
audio experience. Their peculiar call, which can be most described to
that of a donkey braying, earns them the nickname of “jackass” penguins.
Soon the chicks will be moved to a
public display in a habitat outside the entrance of the park’s Penguin
Encounter, where visitors will be able to see the chicks grow up in
America’s finest city.
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