Captive Breeding of the Four-eyed Turtle(Sacalia quadriocellata)

In 1998,a study on forty-five four-eyed turtles(Sacalia quadriocellata) was initiated to gather preliminary biological data of this species and to investigate the feasibility of its captive reproduction.In the following six years,no courtship behavior was found occurring in males and no oviposition in females.From 2004 to 2007,two successful techniques were applied to initiate reproductive behavior:1) injecting exogenous reproductive hormones; and 2) reducing the stress of living in captivity.As a result of the hormone treatments,courtship behavior and copulation were observed during September and October,2005.However,no courtship displays were seen from the CK males,which were not treated with hormones.Ovulation occurred between December and March,and the correlation was not significant between behavior of ovulation and food intake.Females laid only one clutch of eggs each year,with 2.47 eggs(n=34,range=1–4) at average,and 84 eggs were totally obtained,of which 13 were damaged,52 were infertile and 19 fertile.Of the fertile eggs,nine were hatched with mean incubation period of 105.9 days(n=9,range=89–122 days) at temperature ranging from 24 to 27℃.

Establish a special conservation zone for the captive giant panda

The giant panda(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)is recognized worldwide as an icon for wildlife conservation.Since the introduction in 1992 of reliable methods for artificial insemination,the population of captive pandas has grown to approximately 350 individuals in 2013.However,ca ptive panda populations are harmed by environmental pollution,diseases trans-mitted from domestic animals,and other anthropologenic activities.Although the Chinese government has proposed the creation of a Giant Panda National Park,there are at least three reasons that suggest that it is premature to reintroduce captive pandas into this proposed national park.First,habitat fragmentation remains the greatest threat to survival of giant pandas;second,most captive pandas are hybrids of the Sichuan and Qinling subspecies and release of hybrids may lead to further introgression between the two subspecies;and third,captive pandas may be competitively inferior to wild pandas in the region,and may not survive fights for food or mates.As an alternative,we suggest establishing a special con-servation zone in the Shennongjia National Nature Reserve for wild training of captive pandas prior to their reintroduction into the National Park.

Growth of the tufted-tailed rat

Eliurus myoxinus (Rodentia: Nesomyidae, Nesomyinae) is one of the four species of endemic Malagasy rodentsknown to exist in the Ankarafantsika National Park, northwestern Madagascar. In order to study growth parametersand to determine at which age E. myoxinus commences breeding, we used two different techniques: captivebreeding and a capture-mark-release field program in the species’ natural habitat. The data collected on thebreeding of E. myoxinus in captivity demonstrated that females can give birth to a litter of up to four pups, with upto four litters per calendar year. Reproduction of E. myoxinus was more likely to be continuous in captivity thanunder natural habitat conditions. If parturition failed, then post-partum mating occurred. Pups had a rapid lineargrowth phase from birth until 1 month of age. Between 1.5 and 2 months of age, the growth rate continued toincrease, but then decreased at around the time of weaning, which occurred by 3.5 months of age. The successivemaximum method of age determination showed that individuals at the “young” stage had an average body length of90 mm and a weight of 30 g and were between 1.5 and 2 months old. The greatest variation in measurements ofjuveniles occurred at the age of 3.5 months. At this stage, sub-adults resembled adults but their external genitaliawere not well developed. Individuals were classified as adults if they had reached a body length of 110 mm and abody weight of 40 g. This occurred at more than 4.5 months of age when the animals were generally reproductivelyactive. The Von Bertalanffy method indicated that individuals reach the adult stage by 6 to 7 months. Males grewmore rapidly than females, reaching adulthood by 5.5 months of age, whereas females only reached adulthoodseveral weeks later. This species is polygamous. The sex ratio of pups at birth favored females by approximately3:1. The higher proportion of female pups at birth may represent a survival strategy of this species, possiblyassociated with ecological conditions.