Extinct hyenas

Once again I was reading the newspaper online and found this about the Extinct hyenas actually being born in the wild. I didn't know that once the parents were raised by conservation staff that they could be retrained to live in the wild and it is amazing that they have all that land to ran around in. 4100 hectares = 10 131.3206 acres. Wish we could have that much land in the US for our endangered animals.

'Extinct' hyenas born on Sir Bani Yas Island

• Last Updated: February 02. 2010 1:12PM UAE / February 2. 2010 9:12AM GMT

The newly-born cubs together.

Two striped hyena cubs have been born on Sir Bani Yas Island, through a successful breeding programme. The striped hyena is completely extinct in the UAE and is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as ‘near threatened’ worldwide.

The mother, Phiri, and her newly-born hyena cub.

These are the first hyenas to be born wild in the UAE for many years. The mother and father, “Phiri” and “Arnold” were raised by conservation staff in breeding centres and relocated to Sir Bani Yas Island in 2008 as part of a conservation program where they were taught how to survive in the wild and to be self sufficient.

The hyenas roam freely in the 4,100 hectare Arabian Wildlife Park on Sir Bani Yas Island along with cheetahs and some 4,000 antelopes and gazelles.

Both cubs are healthy and visitors to the island may soon be able to see them roaming around the Arabian Wildlife Park.