SeaWorld Uses Frozen Sperm to Breed Dolphins

Veterinarians at SeaWorld have, for the first time, produced two bottlenose dolphins by using once-frozen sperm to artificially inseminate their mothers.

Officials at the theme park announced Thursday that the two calves, one male and one female, had been born in May to bottlenose dolphins who had been impregnated with sperm from a dolphin used by the U.S. Navy.

Previously, bottlenose dolphins have been bred through artificial insemination with fresh semen.

The new calves are the first to be produced from semen that was frozen then thawed, said Tom Reidarson, a SeaWorld veterinarian who helped develop the procedure.