LOOK. “Suddenly I saw two extra sparkling eyes in the dark hole”: Planckendael ZOO welcomes hyena pup | Mechelen

“Hyena Luena didn’t show up for the daily breakfast, so I went to check on her favorite hiding spot near the pond. And there I saw two extra sparkling eyes in the dark whelping hole!” says predator keeper Lies beaming.

Births of triplets to quadruplets occur in hyenas, but mothers have only two nipples to feed their young. So from birth they fight for dominance and milk. Only the strongest survive in pairs or alone, but that won’t bother this little one.

Planckendael ZOO participates in the European breeding program of the largest and loudest hyena species. “The gestation period of the spotted hyena is four months and both fertilization and birth are small miracles because the birth canal of hyenas is unusually long and with the necessary obstacles,” says curator Sarah.

In hyenas, females are in power and they are larger than males. They even resemble them, because their genitals resemble a penis and they have a lot of testosterone in their bodies. In Planckendael ZOO, father Bongo lives on the edge of the clan. Sisters Xena and Xavannah, aged 1.5 years, often lie in the den with their mother.

“Xavannah has already been out with the cub once and her mother was not very happy about that. She came to get her puppy while grunting and brought the little one back to the nest in her mouth,” says caregiver Frederik. “A newborn puppy is very endearing in contrast to their bolder adult version with their impressive stature and expressive face.”

The gender of the puppy is currently unknown. All newborns from 2024 at Planckendael ZOO will be given a name starting with the letter Z. The caregivers will make their favorite top 3 and everyone can then vote via social media.

The young is still very dark and does not yet have the typical camouflage spots; they won’t appear for another four months. For the time being, the puppy still drinks mother’s milk, even though he already has full teeth.

In the long term, beef, rabbit and occasionally a goat or sheep carcass will be on the menu. Hyenas eat everything, literally skin and hair, horn and hoof. Their strong teeth and jaws crush everything and their stomach digests the remaining pieces of bone. You can tell by their white droppings that they eat bones full of calcium.

Did you know that… the ZOO was the first zoo in Belgium?

1.78 million visitors to Antwerp Zoo and Planckendael

Spotted in Antwerp zoo: not a pink, but a white flamingo. How is that possible?

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