Two spotted hyena cubs born last week at Hattiesburg Zoo. Mother, babies are doing fine
In January, Hattiesburg Zoo officials held a gender reveal for its spotted hyena cub Kito. Less than a year later the zoo announced the birth of two more hyena cubs to mother Pili.
“Pili was a wonderful mom to her first cub, Kito, and we were expecting her to immediately care for these cubs, which she has done,” Animal Curator Kristen Moore said in a news release.
The cubs were born Oct. 13. Mother and cubs are doing fine so far.
“Pili is nursing the cubs and they are both eating well,“ Moore said. “It is still very early in the process, but we are very pleased with their bonding.”
Hyena births are difficult for both mothers and cubs. A typical litter is between two and four cubs with an approximate survival rate of 40%. Hattiesburg Zoo's hyena survival rate so far is 100%.
“We are just beyond excited that Pili has had another successful birth at the Hattiesburg Zoo,” said Jeremy Cumpton, director of Conservation, Education and Wildlife.
Kito was born Oct. 17, 2022. He was the only live hyena born last year in North America.
Zoo officials announced in September Kito would be relocated to the Rolling Hills Zoo near Salina, Kansas, where he will become part of a breeding pair.
“Breeding hyenas is important to their conservation as they are highly endangered animals,” Cumpton said.
Hattiesburg Zoo Veterinarian Dr. Julia MacGregor performed an initial health assessment on the cubs, but the gender of the cubs will not be known for several months. It is difficult to determine a hyena's gender since female hyenas exhibit some masculine-like features.
“There are many milestones ahead of us, but at this time both cubs registered healthy weight at 1.65 kilograms and 1.7 kilograms, which is a positive indicator of good health,” MacGregor said.
Hattiesburg Zoo is a conservation facility and participates in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' species survival program, which ensures genetic diversity and maintains dwindling animal populations.
“The Hattiesburg Zoo is proving to be a standout in hyena breeding in the Species Survival Program, and we are proud and thankful for our success thus far,” Cumpton said.
The spotted hyena cubs are just two of the zoo's newest acquisitions. Also introduced in October are Grace, a reticulated giraffe, and Bunga, a Malayan tiger.
The walkway that goes past the hyena exhibit will be closed for the rest of October to give the hyenas time to grow stronger, but visitors to the zoo will still have access to the other African exhibits via a second pathway.
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This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Hattiesburg Zoo welcomes 2 spotted hyena cubs
