LINCOLN PARK — Critically endangered black-footed ferrets, and potentially many other endangered animals, could soon become un-endangered thanks to research newly published by a group of conservationists, including Lincoln Park Zoo scientists.
Lincoln Park Zoo scientist Rachel Santymire made significant contributions to the research, according to zoo spokeswoman Sharon Dewar, which involved using frozen sperm from long-dead ferrets to produce healthy offpsring. For years, Santymire has been working with ferret genetic materials at the zoo and traveling to do field work.
"Our local institution is developing new methods to non-invasively study wildlife so we can learn how the environment is impacting their success. These studies have far-reaching beneficial implications, not only locally — right here in Lincoln Park at the zoo — but throughout Illinois. We are recovering several native Illinois species to the wild," Dewar said.
The new, groundbreaking study was published Thursday in the journal Animal Conservation, by Santymire along with other researchers from Lincoln Park Zoo, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Louisville Zoological Garden, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Phoenix Zoo and Toronto Zoo.
Using frozen semen from a ferret named "Scarface," who has been dead for approximately 20 years and was one of the last 18 black-footed ferrets to exist in the world in the 1980s, the team was able to reproduce eight baby ferrets, or kits.
“Our study is the first to provide empirical evidence that artificial insemination with long-stored spermatozoa is not only possible but also beneficial to the genetic diversity of an endangered species,” said David Wildt, lead author, senior scientist and head of the Center for Species Survival at The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, one of the partners working to save the species.
Genetic diversity is essential to the survival of species and a common hurdle for conservationists trying to boost population via interbreeding a small number of animals.
“What we’ve done here with the black-footed ferret is an excellent example of how sperm preservation can benefit species recovery programs," Wildt said.
At first, scientists artificially inseminated female ferrets who failed to naturally mate with males, which led to 135 babies. But they were limited to the sperm of male ferrets that were alive at the time, which would decrease genetic diversity and mean more malformed sperm and lower success of pregnancy over time. So they decided to collect and preserve some semen for future use.
Preserving the sperm allowed animals that have passed away to pass their genes to offspring. Black-footed ferrets are normally in the breeding program for up to four years. By cryopreserving the sperm, ferrets can be in the program — so to speak — for at least 20 years, according to Santymire.
Beginning in 2008, the scientists started to see successful pregnancies using thawed sperm that was cryopreserved. It took the team some years after that to monitor offsprings' success and then write the study, Dewar said.
The research shows "how important it is to bank sperm and other biomaterials from rare and endangered animal species over time," according to Paul Marinari, senior curator at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.
“These ‘snapshots’ of biodiversity could be invaluable to future animal conservation efforts, which is why we must make every effort to collect, store and study these materials now."
Black-footed ferrets are one of three ferret species on Earth, including the European polecat and the Siberian polecat, according to the recovery program's website. The black-footed ferret is the only species native to North America. The species has been classified as endangered in the United States since 1967.
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