Although artificial insemination with fresh semen has proven successful, reliance on fresh semen continues to impose severe logistical limitations. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop semen cryopreservation to facilitate easier transport and long-term storage.

Previous studies have demonstrated species-specific differences in sperm viability following cryopreservation among Asian and African elephants and a high incidence of variability in semen quality both among bulls of the same species as well as, between ejaculates from the same bull. Because spermatozoa are mixed with accessory gland fluids that provide both nutrients and other factors, individual differences in these components of the semen influence the overall semen quality.

The goal of this project is to investigate these differences in seminal plasma characteristics to determine if these differences affect sperm viability, motility and acrosomal integrity.