Freezing of post mortem collected semen from moose and red deer

Abstract

The semen was collected from cauda epididymides, vasa deferentia, and ampullae of red deer (Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758) stags and moose [Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758)] bulls killed during the rut. This semen was placed in the glycerolated fructose-yolkcitrate extender and next frozen in solid carbon dioxide and liquid nitrogen. Even the semen collected two hours after the animal death was suitable for freezing. From one male it is possible to obtain about 100 pellets for artificial insemination. This method seems to be suitable for application in wildlife management.