EXAME REPRODUTIVO EM GATO-DO-MATO-PEQUENO (Leopardus tigrinus Schreber, 1775)

A better understanding of the reproductive physiology of Neotropical small felids is necessary to get a more consistent reproductive performance aiming to increase the number of individuals that reproduce in the captive population and to develop and use assisted reproduction techniques. Andrologic examinations (n=32) were performed in three series of captive small catamounts (Leopardus tigrinus, n=11), at Itaipu Binacional Wildlife Breeding Center, at Foz do Iguassu – PR – Brazil. Animals were kept in enriched enclosures and were fed with bovine meat, whole chicken, rats, supplemented with minerals and vitamins. The anesthetic protocol used was xilazine (0.9 mg/kg, IM) combined with tiletamine/zolazepan (6.7 mg/kg, IM). The electroejaculation protocol used was described by Howard (1986) and consisted in 8 series of 10 stimulus, with intensity varying from 2 to 5 volts. Urine contamination was detected in 10 semen samples (31.2%), being possible to discard these and make good use of the other ones. Values are depicted as mean ± SEM. The characteristics of the semen were: volume 0.13 ± 0.20 ml; motility 73.44 ± 3.71%; status 3.48 ± 0.11; pH 7.58 ± 0.07. Spermatic concentration was 436.41 ± 95.8 x 106 cells/ml, with 55.86 ± 3.34 % morphologically normal spermatozoids. Results demonstrated that the used protocol was efficient in all animals submitted to semen collection and that teratospermia is high in this species.