Last year, four male hyenas were relocated from Monarto to Perth Zoo and Altina Wildlife Park. This left two males and two females and over the last few months we have been introducing these animals to begin a new clan. Our aim was to establish all four animals, with the hope that the dominant females would put the males in their place allowing the group to live harmoniously. This, of course, was not to be, but as there is not a lot known about hyena introductions and captive clan dynamics we had to give it a go.

Hyena inrtoductions were a gradual process at Monarto Zoo.

Our two females have always been housed together, with the two males housed individually. Initial introductions, between one female and one male, proved successful with both males known to be subordinate. Following this we progressed to both females with a single male again with no issues however, when moving on to introduce both males and both females, we were prepared for anything! Our more subordinate male, Gamba, seemed to have won over the females and was getting along well. The other male, Piltengi, can get a bit excitable and when he was introduced to the mix, immediately started to chase Gamba. Interestingly, the dominant female, Kigali, broke the fight up by holding Piltengi by the neck, maybe shaking some sense into him! We called it a day and decided to try introductions again the following day. The same situation occurred but this time Gamba, the subordinate male, also chased and attacked Piltengi. At this point we decided to start with a clan of three, leaving Piltengi solitary. Although not yet a part of the clan Piltengi reaps all the extra rewards of having his amazing training skills used on tours!

The chasing games begin!

The next development we saw was that the two females began to fight. It seemed that the daughter was trying to take dominance now there was a male in the mix. This behaviour did not last long, and within a few days our new clan of three were happily spending their days together with Kigali remaining top girl.

Now we must wait for signs of female oestrus, which is difficult detect. Our hope is that both females will have cubs to build up the Monarto Zoo clan.

Anna

Acting Team Leader of Carnivores and Ungulates, Monarto Zoo