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Contents Over the last few decades, rhinoceroses and elephants became important icons in the saga of wildlife conservation. Recent surveys estimate the wild Asian ( Elephas maximus) and African ( Loxodonta africana) elephant populations to be, at most, 50 250 and 637 600 respectively. For the five rhinoceros species, black ( Diceros bicornis), white ( Ceratotherium simum), Indian ( Rhinoceros unicornis), Javan ( Rhinoceros sondaicus) and Sumatran rhinoceros ( Dicerorhinus Sumatrensis), the population estimates of 3610, 11 330, 2400, 60 and 300, respectively, are of even greater concern. Protected against habitat loss, poaching and left undisturbed, rhinoceros and elephants reproduce well in the wild. But small and decreasing populations make successful captive management of these taxa increasingly important. In captivity, however, most populations face possible ‘extinction’ because of historically poor reproductive performance. From the first descriptions of the reproductive anatomy and the oestrous cycle ( Laws 1969 ; Kassam and Lasley 1981 ; Balke et al. 1988a,b ; Plotka et al. 1988 ; Godfrey et al. 1991 ) to the present use of advanced assisted reproduction technologies, researchers have strive to understand the function and dysfunction of the reproductive biology of these charismatic species. This paper reviewed the current knowledge on rhinoceros and elephant reproduction biology, reproductive cycle, gestation, dystocia, reproductive pathology, oestrous induction and artificial insemination, sperm sexing, IVF and contraception, and how this knowledge is or might be used to aid species conservation for maximal reproductive efficiency and enhancement of genetic management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contents Over the past decade, there has been increasing interest in the application of reproductive technology to the conservation and management of natural populations of deer. The application of assisted reproduction technologies within natural population of deer is in its infancy. However, its future potential is enormous, particularly in relation to genetic management or conservation. This paper reviews the present state of such technologies for a wild subspecies of red deer, the Iberian red deer ( Cervus elaphus hispanicus), by discussing the major components of oestrous synchronization, semen collection/cryopreservation and insemination techniques. In addition, findings made during the course of studies on natural populations have enormous potential for the understanding of novel reproductive mechanism that may not be uncovered by livestock or human studies. A summary of these results are also reviewed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]