EVALUATION OF DROMEDARY CAMEL’S BODY PARAMETERS AND THE EFFECT OF EPIDIDYMAL REAGION ON EXTRA-GONADAL SPERM RESERVE

This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of epididymal regions on camelid extra-gonadal sperm reserve and the relationship among the sperm reserve and body parameters using twenty-one apparently healthy adult male dromedary camels brought to the Kano main abattoir for slaughter. Body parameters such as body length, chest girth, hump base circumference and hump lateral base were measured before slaughter. Body weight was then derived from these parameters. Paired samples of testicles with their associated epididymides were obtained post-slaughter and transported to the laboratory on ice. The testicles were separated from the epididymides. One epididymis was processed, its weight and volume recorded and epididymal sperm reserve was determined by haemocytometry. Results of the study showed that there was no correlations between the camel’s body weight and epididymal parameters. However, there was positive correlation between camel’s body weight and all other body parameters. The cauda epididymis accounted for the highest portion (73.72%) of extra-gonadal sperm reserve as compared to the corpus (20.95%) and caput (5.33%) but no statistically significant difference was observed in sperm reserve between corpus and cauda epididymis. It can be concluded that camel’s body weight should not be considered as an indicator of good epididymal sperm reserve. Also, cauda epididymis is the most suitable site for post-mortem harvest of camel’s spermatozoa. Therefore, spermatozoa from the cauda epididymis could be harvested, preserved and subsequently be used for artificial insemination in camels.