Striped hyenas in US collections

Striped hyenas in US collections
28-02-2008

Hello
I am new to this site, so I wanted to say thanks for sharing your thoughts and information.
Ever since visiting Zoo Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and getting to walk with a keeper ,and sit next to a fence ,just inches from the gorgeous face of a striped hyena - I have loved these animals. So I am very pleased at the number of facilities in the US that have added these animals. Last year San Diego added a new public exhibit for the stripeds at the Zoo , in addition to several animals being conditioned for inclusion in special programs at the Wild Animal Park. Last fall 1.2 stripeds went on exhibit in an outdoor enclosure of the Feline Building at the Denver Zoo, that may have previously housed their spotted hyenas before they moved to the wonderful Predator Ridge exhibit. The keeper told me they were wild caught.
And now, Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, FL , which has quietly been building quite an impressive little collection in its Safari Africa area, has added an exhibit with 1.3 stripeds. A staff member at the Miami Metrozoo told me they had been confiscated after someone tried to import them illegally, so they held them there, before finding a home at Lowry Park. I haven't confirmed that story, but with the number of illegal importations these days it wouldn't surprise me ( anyone else remember the tree pangolin that LA Zoo got from a confiscation a few years ago , taken on a plane past one attendant who thought it was just a pet of some kind and making it from Africa to Paris, then finally stopped in LA ).
I know the last Canid/Hyena Advisory Group called for US zoos to eliminate striped hyenas since numbers were so low ( at the time just 1.1 at Living Desert, Palm Desert, CA ) but now, perhaps if these animals breed, we may get to keep another really interesting species from being "phased out" of our zoos.
Thought I'd share this info with any other hyena lovers out there. There's some good news for spotted hyena numbers in the US as well, if anyone is interested I can share a little of that too.

Eric in Portland, Oregon

28-02-2008

It's great to hear about the Hyena's, they are a species I have recently become interested in. In the UK they are rare in zoos, and so haven't really observed any. Thanks for the info and please let me know more.

28-02-2008

@Eric: not to get too sidetracked here, but I wanted to point out that I concur with you on the Predator Ridge exhibit at the Denver Zoo. To be able to get so close to lions, african wild dogs and spotted hyenas was a blast. It will be interesting to see photos of the finished Asian Tropics, 10 acre exhibit opening next year. Denver is too far away for a visit...

28-02-2008

Welcome Eric
I am affraid I am also going off topic, but do you know the current status of brown hyenas in US-Zoos? I am not able to find any american holding on ISIS. Is it true - have they all gone? (because I think to remember reading an article about a breeding success in San Diego? a few years ago)

Thanks Jana

29-02-2008

HI Jana

I know of no zoos/wildlife parks in the US holding any brown hyenas. The last time I was at Mountain View in Langley ,BC ,Canada, probably 2 years ago, they still had 1 specimen, believe it was the male. Not good news for such a beautiful animal, but at least the spotted and striped populations are improving.
I know it's a continent away, but regarding the browns, When I was in Prague 2 years ago they were building a much improved new brown hyena exhibit , in the location of the cheetah exhibit, and were working to import a few more specimens to hopefully continue their success with breeding. The old 2 yards were adequate as far as grass and space I guess, but indoor housing/denning were very old. Have some good pictures of those specimens somewhere, along with the pairs at Tierpark and Dvur Kralove, if interested, might take a bit to find though - they're on my old computer.

Eric

29-02-2008

Mountain View Conservation Society no longer lists any hyenas on their website, and on my solitary visit there last year they didn't have a brown hyena. They do have aardwolves...

29-02-2008

Hi Eric
Thank you for the information about the current status of this specie in US. I think it is pitty they disappeared so silently but I am glad to hear the spotted and stripped hyenas are "a new fashion" there.
I visit Prague frequently so I am following the progress with their new brown hyena exhibit closely. The new 2 yards are already finished and inhabited by animals, the visitors area is still under construction, it needs a few weeks I think. They imported 2 young females from South Africa last year, that has increased their numbers to 3 unrelated pairs, but at least 1 of them is not compatible what I have heard (the male Tyson ex Kronberg/wild and the female Andula, a daughter of the deceased pair Burr and Barbie). Let us hope her two brothers Silvester and Matej will do better with the 2 new ladies.
I might have got some pictures of the new exhibit but I can not find them just now, so at least I will post a photo taken last weekend.

I know the exhibit and the specimen in Dvur Kralove quite well, and I saw a few pictures from Tierpark Berlin recently (thanks to Sven "Animal"), but I am really interested in your images, especially from Tierpark. It would be great you could post a few of them here.
BR Jana

06-04-2009

A short note to revive this thread ...
I recently visited the Arbuckle Wilderness, a privately-owned drive-through safari park in southern Oklahoma (.:arbucklewilderness.com:.) and was blown away by the presence of two striped hyenas (as well as two spotted hyenas). Not sure where they came from, but they were there!

06-04-2009

Zoo Boise is due to receive a pair of striped hyenas within the month. They are arriving from Dickerson Park Zoo.

06-04-2009

Good to see the hyenas getting some love. They became a favorite of mine when I started loking for them and realized how few there are even in the most complete of US collection. I saw my first striped in San Diego and my first spotted in Oakland. If you're into hyenas you should look into the UC berkeley's research facility. I'm sure they have a website. They most likely have the largest group of spotteds in the US living in the hills overlooking the San Francisco Bay.

08-04-2009

Hi Ungulate. Could you give us a review of the place, please. I always intended to visit there but never had the chance. Since you mention seen the striped hyena there, I would be very interested in seen them in the near future. Thanks.

09-04-2009

From the looks of the video it seems they have themselves a weinermobile. Always wanted to go on a simulated safari in a giant sausage. Not much mention of the species they keep, though.

09-04-2009

A LONG time ago African Lion Safari in Cambridge, Ontario had Striped Hyenas. I would like them to be displayed more, along with the other hyena species, and the Aardwolf.