Giant Steps by Laura Zajac Ferrets aren't the only creatures having trouble mating the old-fashioned way.
Bull elephants are dangerous, and most zoos lack the facilities to handle an adult male elephant.
Shanthi's pregnancy is only the fifth successful artificial insemination of an elephant ever. For more than two decades, researchers had been attempting AI in elephants with no success. Scientists could now pinpoint the day of ovulation, then deposit sperm in exactly the right spot in the elephant's reproductive tract. Shanthi became the first animal to receive the new procedure that year. The technique didn't work at first.