Natural History

Posted in pets that can kill you, wildlife | Tagged pet hyena, striped hyena | 11 Comments

11 Responses

1. on November 3, 2010 at 1:46 am Pai

   Hyenas are my favorite wild animal. But I would never keep one as a pet, especially in the house like a dog!

   
   
2. on November 3, 2010 at 4:39 am Autry

   I wonde what (if any) religion those people practice. Muslims do no allow dogs in their homes because dogs are ‘unclean’. Do hyenas get a pass? Perhaps it’s a Christian family.

   Were the hyenas wild caught or captive bred?

   I don’t think my dad could have convinced my mom to let him keep a couple of coyotes at home.

   
   
3. on November 3, 2010 at 7:58 am HTTrainer

   The comments “we’ve become used to them” & “at first I was scared” tell it all. Fear rarely goes completely away, no matter how hard they try to mask it.

   
   
4. on November 3, 2010 at 9:37 am Kayleigh

   I just don’t understand why they got them in the first place, if they are scared of them. I remember seeing an article in Maxim a while back where tribal people had hyenas as pets.

   
   
5. on November 3, 2010 at 12:04 pm Jess

   Hyena men:

   http://www.pieterhugo.com/selected-work/the-hyena-other-men/2.jpg/

   The text is very interesting.

   
   
   • on November 3, 2010 at 6:55 pm retrieverman

     When I asked Nigerians, “How do you feel about the way they treat animals”, the question confused people. Their responses always involved issues of economic survival. Seldom did anyone express strong concern for the well-being of the creatures. Europeans invariably only ask about the welfare of the animals but this question misses the point. Instead, perhaps, we could ask why these performers need to catch wild animals to make a living. Or why they are economically marginalised. Or why Nigeria, the world’s sixth largest exporter of oil, is in such a state of disarray.

     Very good questions.

     
     
6. on November 3, 2010 at 11:34 pm Jackal73

   Is there any context as to *why* these people are keeping striped hyenas as pets? (I googled but could find anything apart from a link to this video on the IUCN Hyaena Specialist Group.)

   I think striped hyenas (and aardwolves) are particularly attractive, but they’re still wild animals and so by definition don’t do well as “pets”. (It’s different if they’re kept in a fashion appropriate to their needs, and even then there are issues around conservation if the species is to be kept in captivity.)

   Assuming there is a answer aside from “because they can and they think it’s cool/because the animals are expensive”, of course.

   
   
7. on October 9, 2011 at 8:44 am Beta Chick

   Actually striped hyenas are the most timid and smallest of the hyenas and are in fact tame-able if they are well trained from a pup. Admittedly you couldn’t treat it like your favourite Mister Fluffers, but they much better than it’s other hyena cousins like the spotted or brown.

   I personally wouldn’t half mind having a striped, I love hyenas, very interesting and gorgeous creatures.

   
   
   • on October 9, 2011 at 9:27 am retrieverman

     They all can be tamed, but they still have powerful jaws, which doesn’t mean that they are necessarily safe to keep.

     Striped hyenas have killed people in the past. It’s very well-documented.

     
     
8. on November 2, 2012 at 2:23 am MoxyShock

   I would like to have one as a pet, but not have it inside all the time. I would like to build a big hyena encloser that would be some what like its habitat so it can have its space and a place to run, but work with it every day and alow it in the house. This animal fascinates me, I have read that they where commonly kept as companions by people in Arabia “not sure but I think thats the place” and it was a tradition that lasted a long wile but has died out. There where some mummified and kept in tombs with there keepers. Not sure how truthful the article I read was and I can’t fined it again so it may not have been true. Said to have domestic blood lines that dated back too but, just not sure about that.

   Off topic but the some what domestic cheetahs used in racing have been breed in captivity for a wile and now have different behaviors than there wiled counterparts or newly captive born cheetahs. Just wondering if that could be done with the striped hyena. That would take a long time and a lot of selective breeding.

   I would like to come in contact with one and care for it before I get one. Like working with one at a zoo, to further learn about the animals behavior face to face. I’m sure it would not be kind to me and i’m not expecting it to. Just want to see how the animal works and how they communicate with one another and so on. I know that this animal is not like a cat, or a dog and will never be like one. I favor Mustelidae as pets over cats or dogs and I’m very curious about how the striped hyena would be like if it was hand raised and worked with everyday and not smothered inside the house all the time. I know the risk one bite can snap a arm ,leg, or my face. I would not hold it against the animal if something like that would happen it would be my own fault for triggering it to react in fear or over space. I still would have to do years of reading and work with one at a zoo before I would be willing to take care of one.

   I would like to have more information about one that was born in captivity and how they live and see if it is just to much for them to be in captivity. I would never want to overwhelm an animal by confining it in a space that is far to small such as a house. It is probably illegal to own one in the USA so this is probably nothing more than some odd fantasy and maybe it should stay that way.

   
   
   • on June 19, 2014 at 1:07 pm zanizaila

     It’s definitely not illegal in US, depends on which state you’re in. In many, many US states, you’re allowed to have everything from wolves to tigers. I even know someone had a striped hyena, but it was seized because they (as pets) were not allowed to be on display, and someone peaked over the very high perimeter fence and then, all of a sudden, the hyena was “on display” in the eyes of the law. -.-

     I will definitely try to get a striped hyena or two if I can move somewhere where they are legal and possible to get your hands on (neither is possible where I live now).

     
     

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