Two new spotted hyena cubs born to first-time mum Noubia have been welcomed at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
Half-term visitors to the award-winning park were amazed when Noubia appeared in the reserve with a tiny cub in her mouth. Two days later, to everyone’s surprise, a second cub was spotted emerging out of the den.
Despite having access to their own house, the hyenas like to find security in the den that they have dug themselves that goes deep underground. Bex Brown, YWP’s carnivore team leader, said: “It was heartwarming to see Noubia and her cubs.
“While it was suspected that Noubia was pregnant, it was hard to find out if she had given birth without disturbing her. We were very excited when we got a call to say a visitor had seen a cub above ground, it was a massive relief for us.”
Noubia even proved herself a supermum when she was out in the reserve with one of her cubs and sensed the weather was taking a turn for the worse. Bex said: “It was raining, it went cold and Noubia decided that she would pick up the cub and to our surprise brought it into the house.
“That’s quite a big ask as hyenas, naturally in their mum mode, are quite secretive. To see the cub close up and that she’d chosen to bring it into the shelter of the house was fantastic.
“It’s about a month old and you could see that its little belly was full.” Charlotte MacDonald, director of animals, said: “These are Noubia’s first cubs, but it seems she is a natural mother.
“She is getting used to the cubs and is besotted with them. They are pretty independent and well developed when they are born with their eyes already open, and they have teeth.
“Noubia came from a zoo in Belgium and was only introduced to the male hyena Speedy a few months ago and they got on really well straight away. We are delighted that they were able to contribute to the breeding programme so quickly.”
The birth of the cubs marks a milestone towards protecting of the incredible species, as their wild population declines. Hyenas are very intelligent and have a wide vocabulary comprising 12 different vocalisations.
Their call sounds a lot like laughter and can be heard from over 5km away. They make this call when they are excited but nervous, when submitting to another hyena or when alerting others about food.
Noubia and Speedy can be found at Experience Ethiopia. Noubia’s cubs are not the only new arrivals at the park; it recently announced the arrival of Neo, an Okapi calf.
READ MORE: Joy as baby Okapi born at Yorkshire Wildlife Park – in pictures