Comparison of equilibration times when freezing epididymal sperm from African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) using Triladyl or AndroMed.

Because of risks of disease transmission, it is not possible to move African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) within South Africa. Therefore, new ways must be found to enable exchange of genetic material and to increase genetic diversity. In this study epididymal sperm from 11 African buffaloes was exposed to 8 different pre-freezing equilibration times, using 2 different semen extenders. To test the influence of equilibration time and to find a practical way of freezing sperm in the field equilibration times between 2 and 9 h were compared. The extenders used were Triladyl and the totally defined extender AndroMed (both Minitüb, Tiefenbach, Germany). Post-thaw motility, longevity and acrosomal integrity were compared. Different equilibration times did not result in different post-thaw qualities. The use of Triladyl resulted almost always in higher post-thaw motilities and in better acrosomal integrity. Individual bulls had a significant influence on measured parameters. Results indicate that sperm flushed in the field can be stored in freezing medium for up to 9 h before being further processed and that Triladyl is superior to AndroMed when freezing epididymal African buffalo sperm. This knowledge is important to plan fieldwork, since working conditions are usually far from the ideal of a laboratory.