On the 10th September 2013 Spotted hyena, Kalabi and Abu became proud parents for a second time here at Colchester Zoo. In 2011 we became the only zoo in the UK to house this species and now are very pleased that our pair of spotted hyena are successfully breeding.

After 30 hours of labour female Spotted hyena, Kalabi, finally gave birth to a healthy cub in the evening of the 10th September! Curator, Sarah Forsyth commented, ‘Mother and cub continue to do well. Young Nafari, Kalabi and Abu’s first offspring, is proving to be an excellent big brother and a big help to Kalabi. The cub has been confirmed as male and has been named Jasiri.’

The male, named Abu, born in September 2005 arrived from Amersfoort Zoo in the Netherlands and a female, Kalabi, born in July 2008, arrived from Berlin on the 21st July 2011. Abu and Kalabi transferred to Colchester Zoo following a recommendation from the studbook keeper. Visitors can see the cub out with Kalabi and the family in their enclosure ‘Edge of Africa’.

The spotted hyena is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List due to the species continued widespread distribution within Africa, south of the Sahara. Populations of the species residing outside of protected areas are suffering mild threat of decline due to persecution and loss of habitat.

It is hoped that Abu and Kalabi continue their breeding success to help maintain the population of this species within the captive environment.