One step closer to returning to the wild
JOHANNESBURG – Urban Hyena Research Project releases young hyena found in Blairgowrie late last year.
Under leadership of Doctor Brian Kuhn, researchers from University of the Witwatersrand Palaeosciences Centre have been studying hyena clans that reside in and around the Johannesburg suburbs.
Juno, a young female brown hyena found wandering the streets of Blairgowrie at the end of September last year, raised the awareness of these animals. Since then she has been recovering at Johannesburg Zoo before being moved to a game reserve in the North West.
On 15 May, Kuhn and some of the team completed the first step in what will be Juno’s eventual walk to freedom.
Through the generous help of the Society for the Protection of Cruelty against Animals (SPCA) and members of the public the team was able to purchase a GPS tracking collar.
With the state-of-the-art collar, the team will now be able to track her movements on an hour by hour basis, see exactly where she is roaming and be alerted if she moves outside of a pre-determined range.
Under the watchful eye of veterinary members from Johannesburg Zoo and an inspector of the National SPCA, Juno was darted, checked, weighed and collared. Blood and hair samples were also taken for further research.
She weighed in at a healthy 45kg and is now almost fully grown.
She was given a week to recover from the days’ events, and she has been staying in her boma in the reserve before being released back into the wild.
Kuhn noted that while Juno is not the ideal subject, she had to be removed from the urban environment.
“Ethically, we need to track her status once she is released for approximately 12 months,” said Kuhn. ”Thus, the initial collar is for her, but such a project, unfortunately, requires more than just one once-off cash injection.
“For the project to realise its full potential, a longer-term sponsor is required which would allow us to collar as many of the free-ranging Brown Hyena on the fringe of Johannesburg as possible.”
The NSPCA has established a bank account into which funds can be deposited should people wish to make contributions.
Name: SPCA National Council of SA
Bank: Standard Bank
Branch: Alberton
Branch Code: 012342
Account No: 220639744
Deposit ref: Juno_hyena
Swift Code: SBZAZAJJ (required for international transactions)
Details: Dr. Brian Kuhn, kuhnbf@gmail.com and Keith Newnham, kpnewnham@gmail.com or 082 785 2989.
