The Hyena Research Colony at the UC Berkeley to be shut down by lack of funding : Hyena Research Colony At UC Berkeley To Be Shut Down Due To Lack Of Funding CBS San Francisco
It would be wonderful if somebody in the UK could acquire some of these animals. Whipsnade certainly would have the space...
This is a fascinating story in part because of such a large group of animals being kept for this reason and in this way, and in part because of the name of the keeper looking after the animals at Oakland Zoo – Lovesong Cahill. This is without doubt my favourite name of all time.
A better name than the one imposed upon the current President of Nigeria? He goes by the moniker of Goodluck Jonathan.
Maybe some of these zoos building new African savannah exhibits could acquire some of these hyenas. They are infinitely more interesting than wild dogs, IMO, and not seen terribly often. I'd love to see Cincinnati ditch the wild dogs and go with hyenas in the new exhibit. They'd be a nice addition to Columbus's new African section, too.
What infuriates me somewhat that the fate of the hyaenas seems more or less sealed ..! The research group may relocate, the animals not so easy … I hope the zoos in the States take up the banner and find space for holding / exhibiting them. Alternatively: in Europe we have an active ESB for spotted hyaenas …
I'm sure that all of the hyenas will find good homes. As the article indicates several of them already have moved to the Oakland Zoo. People saw this coming for a few years at least; so while sad, it isn't a surprise.
Its certainly puzzling to us that more US zoos don't exhibit hyenas.No doubt in our opinion most people would consider them a classic african savannah animal.We have have only seen them in a handful of zoos.Its a interesting thought to see which US zoos currently exhibit hyenas vs which zoos held them 50 years ago ? Team Tapir223
- There are so many zoo's with african wild dog, if only a small segment switched to Hyena it would be great. I think they make a good exhibit, when I have seen them mainly at the Bronx they have been active. I wonder if the Bronx Zoo could take a few and have a breeding group.
Thanks. Fingers crossed they will all find homes within AZA accredited zoos. They are indeed undervalued as zoo exhibit animal …! Strangely so, as the general public seem to love watching hyaenas!!!
Whilst I think many visitors would be pleased to see Spotted Hyenas, they are deemed to be of Least Concern by the IUCN (a huge tribute to the species' versatility and capacity to cope with change), and thus they don't appeal to zoos seeking to "do their bit". And they can be very destructive: a carnivore with such powerful jaws, that can dig, and is very inquisitive, is a greater challenge to keep than many other similar sized carnivores. Personally I think it's a huge shame: I'd far sooner see a clan of Spotted Hyenas at Whipsnade than yet another pride of generic zoo lions.
It's so strange because in Europe they are well represented ! I checked Zootierliste and found the following : Germany 5 zoos Belgium 3 zoos Danmark 1 zoo France 9 zoos Georgia 1 zoo Italia 1 zoo Netherlands 5 zoos Schweden 1 zoo Slovania 1 zoo Spain 9 zoos Czechian Rep. 2 zoos UK 1 zoo Hungaria 2 zoos Arabic Emirates 1 zoo Makes a total of 41 zoos keeping them in the European area ! Which is however again remarkeble is that only 1 UK zoo keeps them ( do English-spreaking people have something against Hyenas ???? )
Thanks @Ian, but you will know that IUCN status is by far not the only criterium by which a zoo may choose to acquire / exhibit a species. There is also the educational theme or simply a visitor attraction species / model. The latter is certainly the case in zoos that I have visited ..., people just love seeing and observing them. As part of an educational theme of - but not just - carrion feeders in an ecosystem or as an - integral - part of a savannah type / bio-geographical exhibit with the full complement of major species in the food chain ... they are a welcome addition to zoos in general. Be nice to have an update on which AZA (US+Canada) and even Mexican zoos hold hyaenas or have an interest in acquiring the species / individuals.
I would also be intrested to know which other zoos are keeping Spotted hyenas ( Europe we know now but US + Canada + Mexico + Africa, Asia, South America and Australia would also be intresting ! ). BTW for Africa I can tell that the Zoo at the Abuko Reserve in Gambia had them at least in 1999. Don't know however if they still are kept there.
A quick look at zootiereliste is very instructive, kb! In the Netherlands, five collections in a country of just under 17 million hold Spotted Hyena; here in the UK, only Colchester has any, in a country of nearly 64 million. Are Dutch zoo directors are more free thinking than their British counterparts?
Yes, at last check we had five of them residing at the zoo. Official website can be found here if anybody is looking for contact information.
I have idea they would be fascinating kept as a pack in a drive-through, at least as good as Wolves, probably more so because of their social structure.
