UK hyenas and viverrids

[Maguari]

Interested to know from those that have seen them - what physical differences are there between the subspecies of Striped hyaena, aardwolf, binturong and ratel.

Certainly from my understanding of ratel taxonomy there is little difference across the entire range.

Eastern Aardwolves are sandier in colour than Southern in my experience, and also seem to be 'pointier' - less rounded, more angular.

There's a big size difference between Arctictis binturong binturong and A. b. whitei. Twycross's Arabian Striped Hyaena always looks smaller and browner than other Stripeds I've seen.

Never been able to tell the difference between the Ratels.

But it's not always easy with so few individuals to tell if these differences are between subspecies or between individuals, and things like colour are easily affected by environment.

 

[Tim Brown]

From memory Asiatic Ratels are supposed to have a grey "border" between the black and the white.Pilbara Reptiles in Gloucester (1st UK breeding of Samar Cobras) has got a couple of not-for-sale Common Genets in a reasonable indoor enclosure(possibly the ones from the Wolverhampton petshop).

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Eastern Aardwolves are sandier in colour than Southern in my experience, and also seem to be 'pointier' - less rounded, more angular.

As far as Aardwolf subspecies go, all the Southern Aardwolves I have seen in person - along with photographs of other individuals - are certainly shaggier, more robust and "hyena-like" in appearance when compared with the Eastern Aardwolf.

Moreover, the Southern subspecies seems to be somewhat more diurnal and confident from all I have seen and heard.

For comparative purposes....





The former photograph is a Southern Aardwolf at Hamerton, the latter an Eastern Aardwolf at Edinburgh.

 

[zootiger]

Just on the hyena front...

Brown Hyenas- I know with PL they released 1, Scar, back into the wild, and know at least 1 when back to Prague but where did the others go or did they pass away?

Aardwolves- I believe Hamerton now holds just 1 southern and 2 eastern. Not sure where the RSCC ones went, although I can see a private collection called Park Exotics seemed to have acquired 2.

Spotted Hyenas- Colchester has just 3 now is that right? I know also the new RSCC site in Cornwall has a pair.

Striped Hyena- Africa Alive had 2, I know 1 went to Dublin (is this individual still alive as zootierliste says they dont hold them but their website does?!), and what happened to the other 1? Shame to see both Twycross and Heythrop loose theirs.

 

[Badgerman91]

Yes Colchester hold 1:2 Spotted Hyena, a father and his daughters. The mother died a couple of years back I think.

 

[ShonenJake13]

Just on the hyena front...

Aardwolves- I believe Hamerton now holds just 1 southern and 2 eastern. Not sure where the RSCC ones went, although I can see a private collection called Park Exotics seemed to have acquired 2.

RSCC sent out pairs to Hamerton, Edinburgh, Berlin Tierpark, Tayto Park and Park Exotics - Edinburgh’s disappeared, Tayto’s remaining one went to Halle this year and Tierpark’s have now died, leaving just Hamerton and possibly Park Exotixs with aardwolves.

Don’t forget the bachelor holding of spotted hyenas at Longleat....

 

[Babyrousa]

Striped Hyena- Africa Alive had 2, I know 1 went to Dublin (is this individual still alive as zootierliste says they dont hold them but their website does?!), and what happened to the other 1? Shame to see both Twycross and Heythrop loose theirs.

Sorry but I think you actually mean Belfast, not Dublin. The individual in question was the female. Belfast also later received a male (don't know where he came from), but earlier this year, the female went to Augsburg, and the male went to Neunkirchen. Their departure now unfortunately means the species is absent from UK collections, which is a real shame as they are such an amazing species. Hopefully, they will come back to the UK, regardless of collection.

 

[zootiger]

So in clarification! In the UK:

Brown Hyenas- None

Spotted Hyenas- 2 at Longleat (potentialy 4 in near future), 2 at Leopard and Goat Farm, and 3 at Colchester

Aardwolf- 2 Eastern at Park Exotics, 2 Eastern and 1 Southern at Hamerton

Striped Hyena- None

 

[Nisha]

Belfast's male Striped Hyena came from Neunkirchen. He was returned to them when Belfast went out of the species

 

[Babyrousa]

Belfast's male Striped Hyena came from Neunkirchen. He was returned to them when Belfast went out of the species

Thanks Nisha .

 

[zootiger]

Sorry question slightly in the wrong forum, are there any brown hyenas in captivity outside of Prague & Opel (as in the US, Asia etc)?

 

[Tim May]

Sorry question slightly in the wrong forum, are there any brown hyenas in captivity outside of Prague & Opel (as in the US, Asia etc)?

The thread provides details of hyaenas in America so should be useful to you.

According to this thread, there are no brown hyaenas is the USA.

Hyenas in the USA

 

[zootiger]

Thank you very much! Last question! Does anyone know how many brown hyenas are now at Prague and how many are at Opel?

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Thank you very much! Last question! Does anyone know how many brown hyenas are now at Prague and how many are at Opel?

Last I heard, Opel had a pair whilst Prague had 2,2 - however, all animals concerned were pretty old so it is quite possible there are fewer now.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Given that @Chlidonias has reminded me of this thread, and almost exactly 5 years have passed since it was posted, I thought it would be apt to do a little updating.

VIVERRIDAE:

Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) is held by a smattering of smaller collections, mostly rescue centres and collections which have received animals from private hands.

These have remained in reasonably decent numbers, with over a dozen collections holding the species - however, they remain largely restricted to smaller collections.

Rare Species Conservation Centre has a breeding population of Banded Palm Civet (Hemigalus derbyanus) last anyone heard - if they do indeed re-open this year as planned I rather hope they will be onshow!

In the intervening years these have been displayed and bred at RSCC, but with the closure of the collection almost all were dispersed to the continent and the USA; a tiny number remained in private hands here in the UK, but I don't know if this is still the case.

About eight collections spread quite evenly around the UK have non-subspecific Binturong (Arctictis binturong) - by some distance the easiest viverrid to see in the UK.

These are still doing pretty well, with about a dozen collections displaying non-subspecific individuals.

Common Genet (Genetta genetta) are all but gone in the UK - only two collections in Scotland are listed for the species now on Zootierliste, although I believe one or two tiny collections which do not have entries on the site may still have the species.

These are doing quite a bit better now, with a little over half a dozen collections holding the species; however these are largely smaller collections, much as is the case with Asian Palm Civet.

Two collections - Drusillas and Exmoor - have pure Indochinese Binturong (Arctictis binturong albifrons), these being the only onshow examples of subspecific Binturong in the UK at present.

To the best of my knowledge this has not changed.

Another subspecies, the Palawan Binturong (Arctictis binturong whitei), is found at Belfast and RSCC, but neither collection has the species onshow.

Neither of the collections I cited 5 years ago keep them now, as RSCC no longer exists and Belfast ceased to keep the taxon, but in their place four other collections *do* keep Palawan Binturong, including Chester and Axe Valley.

Three collections in the south of England - Newquay, Shaldon and Thrigby Hall - hold the Owston's Banded Palm Civet (Chrotogale owstoni) - a very attractive species indeed. Newquay breed the species quite regularly.

The three collections cited previously have been joined by a fourth, Port Lympne. Both Shaldon and Newquay breed the species.

A handful of other species, including Malayan Civet, Cape Genet, Feline Genet and Pardine Genet, are only found in private hands within the UK.

Of these four species:

I don't know of any Malayan Civet remaining in private hands in the UK - and in fact, the species might well now be absent from Europe entirely.

Cape Genet are held at Hoo Farm, Tropiquaria and North Somerset Bird Of Prey Centre.

Feline Genet remain present in private hands, and may be present in impure form at Shepreth incorrectly labelled as Pardine Genet.

Pardine Genet are held at two or three UK collections, and have been held at a few others in recent years, but only the stock at Wild Discovery in Preston are true Pardine, with the stock at Shepreth and All Things Wild highly doubtful as noted above.

---

Species not mentioned in my 2014 post which need to be highlighted:

Purebred Malayan Binturong (Artictis binturong binturong) are currently kept at both Dudley and Cotswold Wildlife Park.

After imports in 2017, Javan Binturong (Arctictis binturong penicillatus) are kept at Hamerton Zoo; currently the only public collection in Europe with the species.

After a long period of absence from the UK in both public and private hands, African Civet (Civettictis civetta) has come back into fashion among private breeders, with the result that three public collections - Reaseheath, Hoo Farm and Axe Valley - now hold the species.

Hausa Genet (Genetta thierryi) is now kept by Ark Wildlife Park.

Subsequent to a 2018 import, White-bearded Masked Civet (Paguma larvata leucomystax) is now present at Hamerton Zoo.

----

So overall, the past 5 years have been pretty good for viverrid diversity in UK collections

 

[TeaLovingDave]

HYAENIDAE

As far as hyena go, currently all species are found in the UK but none are in massive numbers.

Sadly, the situation for this family is rather more bleak now, with two species absent and the remaining two in low numbers.

As far as I know, Twycross still keep a single female Arabian Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena sultana) - although I do not imagine it will be around much longer.

Finally, there are a small number of non-subspecific Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena) in the UK, at Africa Alive and Heythrop.

This species is now entirely absent from the UK - although it is faring well on the continent.

Port Lympne keeps an ageing pair of Brown Hyena (Parahyaena brunnea) offshow - the only examples of the species within the UK. I

This species is now entirely absent from the UK, and is on the brink of disappearing from continental collections.

Two collections in the UK currently hold the Eastern Aardwolf (Proteles cristata septentrionalis) - Hamerton and RSCC, although for obvious reasons it can only be seen at the former collection at the time of posting.

This subspecies is now only kept at Hamerton and - it seems from recent reports - Hemsley Conservation Centre, but is on-show at the former collection only. The subspecies is also faring poorly in Europe as a whole, with a sizable die-off in European collections over the course of 2018 and several ceasing to keep the species altogether.

Hamerton also holds two ageing male Southern Aardwolf (Proteles cristata cristata), the last examples of the subspecies in captivity anywhere outside the native range.

They are down to a single individual now, but this subspecies remains at Hamerton.

The only collection holding Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) is Colchester - however, they are very active and very visible, and feeding times are well-advertised; as such they are the easiest of the species to see.

This species remains at Colchester, and has recently arrived at Longleat too.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

HERPESTIDAE and EUPLERIDAE:

In terms of herpestids, the Banded Mongoose (Mungos mungo) and Common Cusimanse (Crossarchus obscurus) are the most unusual of the "common" mongoose species held in the UK - both are held in a handful of collections, but are nowhere near as ubiquitous as other species. The Cusimanse is a particularly interesting case, as it is entirely absent outside the south-west of England, but is found in almost every single collection *within* the south-west!

Banded Mongoose have declined quite a bit in the last 5 years, with only 4 or 5 collections now holding the species, but Cusimanse have enjoyed a bit of a surge - over a dozen collections now hold the species, with a pair of these being in Scotland and three further collections (Folly Farm, Shepreth and All Things Wild) being outside SW England.

The Meerkat (Suricata suricatta), Dwarf mongoose (Helogale parvula) and Yellow mongoose (Cynictis penicillata) are all ubiquitous, and need no further elucidation.

No change here

The most unusual mongoose held in a collection within the British Isles in question - but not being part of the UK proper - is the single very elderly Marsh Mongoose (Atilax paludinosus) held at Curraghs on the Isle of Man, the last individual of the species within Europe.

Gone from the UK now, but just about hanging on in Europe due to new imports into private hands.

---

New arrivals into UK collections where herpestids are concerned are Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon ichneumon), held at Axe Valley, and Slender Mongoose (Galerella sanguinea), held at Shorelands. However, the latter is now a private collection once again, so only the former species is readily visible. Both are present in private collections.

---

In terms of the euplerids - the Malagasy carnivorans once classified as herpestids and viverrids - the most common species in the UK is certainly the Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox), which is held in 9 collections spread relatively evenly throughout the British Isles.

These are now a little less commonplace - with 6 collections holding the species - but still the most common of the euplerids in the UK, and indeed Europe.

There are a small number of collections holding the Narrow-striped Boky (Mungotictis decemlineata decemlineata) - Newquay, Durrell, Chester and RSCC, although the species is not viewable to the public at the latter two collections. It is a small and rather reclusive species, so tricky to spot even when onshow in my limited experience.

The situation has changed slightly for this species - RSCC no longer exists, but the new private collection owned by Todd Dalton in the West Country does still keep this species to the best of my knowledge. The three other collections named still keep the species, as does London Zoo.

Two further species of euplerid - the Spotted Fanaloka (Fossa fossana) and Eastern Ring-tailed Vontsira (Galidia elegans elegans) are currently only found at RSCC, and are thus not visible to the public at the present time.

More or less still the case, but read "Todd Dalton's new collection" for RSCC.

A new arrival to the euplerid scene in Europe is Grandidier's Vontsira (Galidictis grandidieri), kept by Todd Dalton and also (off-show) Chester Zoo.

 

[FBBird]

Given that @Chlidonias has reminded me of this thread, and almost exactly 5 years have passed since it was posted, I thought it would be apt to do a little updating.

VIVERRIDAE:



These have remained in reasonably decent numbers, with over a dozen collections holding the species - however, they remain largely restricted to smaller collections.



In the intervening years these have been displayed and bred at RSCC, but with the closure of the collection almost all were dispersed to the continent and the USA; a tiny number remained in private hands here in the UK, but I don't know if this is still the case.



These are still doing pretty well, with about a dozen collections displaying non-subspecific individuals.



These are doing quite a bit better now, with a little over half a dozen collections holding the species; however these are largely smaller collections, much as is the case with Asian Palm Civet.



To the best of my knowledge this has not changed.



Neither of the collections I cited 5 years ago keep them now, as RSCC no longer exists and Belfast ceased to keep the taxon, but in their place four other collections *do* keep Palawan Binturong, including Chester and Axe Valley.



The three collections cited previously have been joined by a fourth, Port Lympne. Both Shaldon and Newquay breed the species.



Of these four species:

I don't know of any Malayan Civet remaining in private hands in the UK - and in fact, the species might well now be absent from Europe entirely.

Cape Genet are held at Hoo Farm, Tropiquaria and North Somerset Bird Of Prey Centre.

Feline Genet remain present in private hands, and may be present in impure form at Shepreth incorrectly labelled as Pardine Genet.

Pardine Genet are held at two or three UK collections, and have been held at a few others in recent years, but only the stock at Wild Discovery in Preston are true Pardine, with the stock at Shepreth and All Things Wild highly doubtful as noted above.

---

Species not mentioned in my 2014 post which need to be highlighted:

Purebred Malayan Binturong (Artictis binturong binturong) are currently kept at both Dudley and Cotswold Wildlife Park.

After imports in 2017, Javan Binturong (Arctictis binturong penicillatus) are kept at Hamerton Zoo; currently the only public collection in Europe with the species.

After a long period of absence from the UK in both public and private hands, African Civet (Civettictis civetta) has come back into fashion among private breeders, with the result that three public collections - Reaseheath, Hoo Farm and Axe Valley - now hold the species.

Hausa Genet (Genetta thierryi) is now kept by Ark Wildlife Park.

Subsequent to a 2018 import, White-bearded Masked Civet (Paguma larvata leucomystax) is now present at Hamerton Zoo.

----

So overall, the past 5 years have been pretty good for viverrid diversity in UK collections

Pretty sure Axe Valley bred African Civets last year.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

MUSTELIDAE and PROCYONIDAE:

As previously noted, there are rather too many mustelids and raccoons to be comprehensive, but I shall update the oddities cited above and then list any major newcomers.

The last remaining collection to hold the less-common of the coati species, the White-nosed Coati (Nasua narica) is Belfast.

I believe this is still the case.

[Belfast] also hold the only Spotted-necked Otter (Hydrictis maculicollis) to be currently found within the UK.

...as is this.

There are a few collections which hold the Kinkajou (Potos flavus) - however, as a nocturnal species it can be a little tricky to spot.

These are scattered throughout smaller collections dotted around the UK, with perhaps a shade under a dozen holders in total.

Howletts holds both Central African Ratel (Mellivora capensis cottoni) and South African Ratel (Mellivora capensis capensis) - neither of which are found anywhere else in the UK. A very attractive species, and very active by mustelid standards.

European Wolverine (Gulo gulo gulo) are held by three collections in the UK - HWP, Cotswold Wildlife Park and Whipsnade.

No change here to the best of my knowledge.

Another large and showy mustelid is the Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) which from a position of being almost unseen in European collections a decade or so ago has become quite common, although no less enjoyable to watch.

Still doing reasonably well in UK collections, although no longer kept at Chestnut Centre due to the closure of said collection.

Whilst we are on the subject of otters, another species which has come out of nowhere in recent years is the Indochinese smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata perspicillata), which is currently held at, and breeding in, three collections - Colchester, RSCC and Wingham.

No longer kept at RSCC for obvious reasons, but still present and breeding at the other two collections; also now kept at New Forest Wildlife Park.

RSCC also holds a population of Northern Yellow-throated Marten (Martes flavigula aterrima), a species also held at Twycross and Exmoor, although it is currently offshow at the latter collection.

Still the case, although I do not know if they are now on-display at Exmoor or not.

Finally, Exmoor, South Lakes and Hamerton all hold groups of the very attractive Tayra (Eira barbara) - the last of those collections has, in point of fact, bred them a few times.

These are no longer kept at South Lakes, but are doing well at Exmoor and Hamerton. All Things Wild and Hemsley also keep the species, last I heard.

---

A major new arrival where mustelids are concerned is the Greater Grison (Galictis vittata), now present and breeding at Hamerton.

After an interregnum of a few years where the species was absent from Europe, Zorilla (Ictonyx striatus) is now present at Cedars Nature Centre and Hoo Farm, and is also present in private hands.

Anecdotally, I am given to understand that Saharan Striped Weasel and African Striped Weasel are currently present in European private collections - so it is possible they are also present within UK private collections.

 

[FBBird]

MUSTELIDAE and PROCYONIDAE:

As previously noted, there are rather too many mustelids and raccoons to be comprehensive, but I shall update the oddities cited above and then list any major newcomers.



I believe this is still the case.



...as is this.



These are scattered throughout smaller collections dotted around the UK, with perhaps a shade under a dozen holders in total.







No change here to the best of my knowledge.



Still doing reasonably well in UK collections, although no longer kept at Chestnut Centre due to the closure of said collection.



No longer kept at RSCC for obvious reasons, but still present and breeding at the other two collections; also now kept at New Forest Wildlife Park.



Still the case, although I do not know if they are now on-display at Exmoor or not.



These are no longer kept at South Lakes, but are doing well at Exmoor and Hamerton. All Things Wild and Hemsley also keep the species, last I heard.

---

A major new arrival where mustelids are concerned is the Greater Grison (Galictis vittata), now present and breeding at Hamerton.

After an interregnum of a few years where the species was absent from Europe, Zorilla (Ictonyx striatus) is now present at Cedars Nature Centre and Hoo Farm, and is also present in private hands.

Anecdotally, I am given to understand that Saharan Striped Weasel and African Striped Weasel are currently present in European private collections - so it is possible they are also present within UK private collections.

Exmoor had two on-show enclosures for Yellow-throated Marten when I was there last month.