The Bellewaerde Park zoo in Ieper (West Flanders) has sent sperm from its lion Nestor to a zoo in Germany. There it will used to artificially inseminate a lioness. The are few lions with the same bloodline as Nestor in the breeding programme that Bellerwaerde participates in. Consequently, it is important that Nestor breeds with several lionesses.
Sperm from lion at West Flemish zoo sent to Germany as part of breeding programme
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Nestor has been the Lion King and the star attraction at Bellewaerde for the past 2 years. A few months ago, he sired the first litter of cubs at the since 2007. Bellewaerde’s only male lion was recently sedated for a semen collection.
The curator and operations manager of the Bellepark’s zoo Pieter Vercruysse told VRT News that
"There are still around 250 northern lions in the wild, which is very few. In captivity, there are barely 100. There is a breeding programme, but it is currently quite small and includes very few purebred animals."
Sperm in high demand
This scarcity increases Nestor’s value. “His sperm is in high demand,” Pieter Vercruysse said. “Nestor is the last of his bloodline within the breeding programme. What’s more, his genes are 75% pure, which is quite high.”
“According to the European breeding programme’s studbook there is a potential match with Amera, the young northern lioness at a German zoo in Wuppertal. She has come into heat for the first time, but the zoo there does not have a male northern lion. There are very few of the species left. Hence the decision to proceed with artificial insemination. Months of preparation went into this”
Exceptional quality
“Collecting the semen from Nestor was exciting. Its quality turned out to be exceptional, despite him being 13. At the lab, they found that the motility was very good and that a good quantity had been collected, which can be stored perfectly until the insemination in Germany.’
"In addition to Amera, a second lioness will also be inseminated there. In lions, the gestation period lasts on average 105 to 110 days. So within a few months we will know for certain whether the insemination was successful. We may find out sooner, as if fertilisation fails, a lioness will come into heat again after just a few weeks. We are in close contact with Wuppertal and they are keeping us informed."