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Japanese zoo fails to breed two hyenas after both turned out to be male | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Zookeepers in Japan have abandoned a years-long attempt to have two spotted hyenas mate and reproduce as both turned out to be male. | Zookeepers in Japan have abandoned a years-long attempt to have two spotted hyenas mate and reproduce as both turned out to be male. |
The Maruyama zoo in Sapporo, northern Japan, said in a statement this week that it was given the animals as a “male and female couple” in October 2010 from a zoo in the South Korean city of Daejon. | The Maruyama zoo in Sapporo, northern Japan, said in a statement this week that it was given the animals as a “male and female couple” in October 2010 from a zoo in the South Korean city of Daejon. |
“We have attempted to house them together for breeding many times but they often fought against each other and never engaged themselves in breeding behaviour,” the statement said. | “We have attempted to house them together for breeding many times but they often fought against each other and never engaged themselves in breeding behaviour,” the statement said. |
Kami, the supposedly female hyena now five years old, showed no estrus symptoms after reaching sexual maturity, prompting the zoo to put it and its six-year-old partner Kamutori to sex tests. | |
“We have determined that the two animals are both male after conducting ultrasound imaging and hormone tests on them under anaesthesia,” the statement said. | “We have determined that the two animals are both male after conducting ultrasound imaging and hormone tests on them under anaesthesia,” the statement said. |
The zoo explained that it is extremely difficult to determine the sex of a spotted hyena from the appearance of its external genitalia. | |
“We still plan to obtain a female spotted hyena for breeding with either Kami or Kamutori,” the statement said. | “We still plan to obtain a female spotted hyena for breeding with either Kami or Kamutori,” the statement said. |
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