Rare hyena species relocated to Meru Park

 

Kenya Wildlife Service vet Bernard Rono (left) checks the condition of ‘Victor.’ [Phares Mutembei, Standard]

Two rare hyenas have been released back to the wild after slightly more than one year of rehabilitation.

The striped hyenas are members of a species listed as near-threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with a global population estimated to be below 10,000.

Spotting them in the wild is rare.

In April 2016, Meru National Park officials received an early morning call from from a resident of Kangeta, about 20km away, about two “strange-looking” cubs that had refused to be fed on milk.

A team comprising Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Born Free Foundation (BFF) rangers was mobilised to rescue the “strange-looking” cubs.

They turned out to be baby hyenas - a male and a female.

“They were shivering in the cold; they clearly missed their mother,” said BFF’s Newton Simiyu, who was part of the rescue team.

But they were not just any hyenas. They belonged to the rare species that is facing extinction.

The two cubs, christened Victor and Victoria, were sent to the Nairobi Animal Orphanage for specialised care.

Back in Meru, preparations for their return began in earnest and a decision to rehabilitate them back into the wild was reached.

Last October, six months after their move to Nairobi, the hyenas, now young adults, were relocated back to Meru. With no mother to train them in how to survive the wild, the wildlife officials took over.

“We had to train them to eat,” said Senior Warden Muraya Githinji.

Early last month, Victor and Victoria were fitted with monitoring satellite collars and finally released into the wild, after a series of vaccinations.

By yesterday, satellite images indicated that the two had separated.

The images also showed that Victoria is the more active hyena and has been sighted near the Isiolo border. She has already found a den for herself.

Victor is not moving around much - he is still around Bwatherongi, a few kilometres from the place the two regarded as home.