Blood serum levels. Serum oestradiol-17 Beta and progesterone concentrations are presented in full realization of thee fact that the technique employed human serum and that single hormone assays are of extremely limited value. Assays were, however, undertaken in the hope that they could he of help in making a clinical diagnosis of pregnancy. Pregnancy was suspected in females 14 and 17 because of the comparatively high concentrations of oeastradiol-17 Beta and progesterone. This assumption was based on extrapolation of data in mares where certain stages of pregnancy are characterized by relatively high circulating concentrations of oeastradiol-17 Beta and prgesterone. Pregnancies were subsequently confirmed in females 14, 16, 17 and 20 by known calving dates in the field. When subtracting immobilization dates from a 16 months gestation period, these females were respectively 10, 12, 10 and 14 months pregnant at the time of capture. Systematic investigation is, however, needed to clarify serum hormonal fluctuations in the white rhinoceros.
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