Matchmaking for zoo animals

Traditionally, zoos are places we visit to marvel at the wonders of the animal world. But with more and more species endangered in their natural habitats, many zoos have shifted their focus to conservation. Rather than bringing in exotic animals from the wild, zoos have to re-populate from within. But managing zoo populations isn’t an easy job. If you would just let the animals ‘do their thing’ and breed on their own, there would probably be a small group of males that would be good breeders. Consequently, if they would exclude the other males from breeding there would soon be a population with a high inbreeding rate. High inbreeding rates means a loss of genetic diversity, as well as a higher chance of harmful mutations to be expressed leading to heritable diseases. In short, it’s a situation you want to avoid.

Why we need animal matchmakers

Universiteit van Nederland made a short video in which Mirte Bosse and Jeroen Kappelhof from Wageningen University and Research (WUR) explain why matchmaking for elephants is important for the survival of the species. Mirte: “There is an agreement between European zoos that animals can be exchanged to prevent inbreeding. But it can still be quite a challenge for studbook keepers to find a suitable match. If, for example, the information in the studbook is incomplete, you don’t know for certain whether two animals are related. That is why we also carry out DNA-research to find a perfect match for the elephants.”

It’s clear from the video that animal matchmaking is not about candlelight dinners and romantic strolls through the moonlight, but rather an elaborate mix of genetics, computer software, science, and airplanes to transport animals from one zoo to the other. Jeroen, studbook keeper for the Asian elephants in Blijdorp, explains how the elephants are transported from A to B: “The elephants are transported in large crates, and in this case we used a Boeing 747, a very large cargo plane, to fly Washington. We were a bit apprehensive to see how Trong Nhi and her daughter Nhi Linh would respond to being on an airplane, but they both stayed remarkably calm.”

Curious to find out if the trip to Washington was a success? Check out the video to learn more about animal matchmaking:

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