Scientists breed golden eagle from frozen sperm

Scientists have made the first successful use of frozen sperm to breed a golden eagle. Biologists from the University of Abertay in Dundee used one-month-old frozen sperm to inseminate a female eagle. The four-week-old chick, called Crystal, is the first bird to be produced by this method.

Scientists have made the first successful use of frozen sperm to breed a golden eagle. Biologists from the University of Abertay in Dundee used one-month-old frozen sperm to inseminate a female eagle. The four-week-old chick, called Crystal, is the first bird to be produced by this method.

"There are all sorts of obstacles to breeding raptors in captivity through natural methods," said Dr Graham Wishart. "Freezing sperm allows us to store it for perpetuity; not only can we wait for optimum breeding conditions, it also opens up the possibility of trans-national breeding programmes for extremely rare birds."

The chick was hatched in South Lanarkshire on 28 April. The scientists say she is in "excellent health".