Successful Cryopreservation of Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) semen using simple techniques

Abstract

This thesis is an investigation of the effect of simple freezing techniques, storage at 4°C and different thaw temperatures on post-thaw measures of cryopreserved Asian elephant semen samples. There was a significant effect of freeze rate on post-thaw motility (P<0.0001) and acrosomal integrity (P<0.005) of straws frozen after 0 and 24 hr storage at 4°C. The faster freeze rates in the dry shipper and at 1cm or 2 cm above liquid nitrogen consistently provided better cryopreservation than slower freezing rates. Thaw temperature had no effect on post-thaw semen quality. Storage of samples prior to freezing had a detrimental effect on post-thaw semen quality. Placing straws directly in a dry shipper to freeze and thawing them at 50°C was a simple technique for effectively cryopreserving Asian elephant semen.