Ovarian activity in Arabian leopards (Panthera pardus nimr): sexual behaviour and faecal steroid monitoring during the follicular cycle, mating and pregnancy
Florine J. de Haas van Dorsser A B D , Daphne I. Green C , William V. Holt C and Amanda R. Pickard CA Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife, PO Box 29922, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
B Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK.
C Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK.
D Corresponding author. Email: f.morrison@imperial.ac.uk
Reproduction, Fertility and Development 19(7) 822-830 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD07053
Submitted: 18 March 2007 Accepted: 25 May 2007 Published: 8 August 2007
Abstract
The Arabian leopard is a critically endangered subspecies endemic to the Arabian Peninsula. A fundamental understanding of the ovarian activity of the leopard is important to enhance the success with which it breeds in captivity. The objective of the present study was to characterise the endocrinology of the follicular cycle, ovulation and pregnancy in captive females using faecal steroid hormone analyses and observations of sexual behaviour. The follicular cycle of the leopard was shown to last 18–23 days based on the interval between consecutive peaks of faecal oestrogen conjugates, and the occurrence of silent heats was high. Puberty had commenced at 2 years of age, but faecal steroid profiles did not match those of the adult female until 3 years of age. No seasonal change in ovarian steroid excretion was observed, although behavioural oestrus was suppressed in summer. Significant rises in faecal progestagen concentrations were only recorded in mated leopards, indicating that these females were strictly induced ovulators. However, only 60% of these mating periods were ovulatory. Progestagen concentrations during pregnancy were significantly higher than those of the non-pregnant luteal phase. The average duration of the non-pregnant and pregnant luteal phases was 39 and 97 days, respectively. The basic features of the reproductive cycle of the Arabian leopard described here form an important foundation for further study into its reproduction.
Acknowledgements
The support of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed al Qassimi and the Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah is gratefully acknowledged. Part of the hormone analysis was kindly funded by the Zebra Foundation. The authors thank the staff at the Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife for their help with data collection and are grateful to Professor W. R. Allen and Dr J. A. Skidmore for their kind help with the preparation of the manuscript.
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