South African lion cubs conceived artificially in world first

South African lion cubs conceived artificially in world first

News:

1. Recently the first ever lion cubs have been  born by means of artificial insemination

Important Facts:

2. The research was carried out at the Ukutula Conservation Center  in South Africa.

3. These were the first lion cubs ever born from artificial insemination in their natural range country (South Africa), and not in a zoo overseas.

Benefits of the research

• Lions are extinct in 26 African countries and numbers in the wild have plummeted 43 percent over the last two decades.
• According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with roughly only 20,000 left,  the African lions are vulnerable.
• The scientists are  hoping the artificial insemination  technique can be used to save other endangered big cats  like the cheetah. .

4. Criticism of the research

• The  animal welfare organisations claim that  captive lion breeding industry in South Africa is exploitative and profit-driven.
• It generates its income through interaction activities (lion cub petting and lion walks), canned trophy hunting of lions and the lion skeleton trade, while contributing nothing to lion conservation.

5. About Artificial Insemination (AI)

• It is the process of collecting sperm cells from a male animal and manually depositing them into the reproductive tract of a female.
• There are several advantages of this like no need of maintenance of breeding and prevents the spread of certain diseases and sterility due to genital diseases.