August 1965 GENERAL NOTES 503

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRTH AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF

THE SPOTTED HYENA
On 3 November 1959 the San Diego Zoo received a pair of young spotted hyenas,
Crocuta crocuta (Erxleben) from East Africa. Five subsequent litters from this pair have
provided opportunities to collect data on the newborn cubs and record details of early
postnatal development.
This species frequents plains and brush country areas of Afrtca. In equatorial latitudes
it breeds throughout the year, but in the southern part of the continent a more restricted
season prevails, with most births occurring during the winter months (Stevenson-Hamilton,
J. 1949. Wildlife in South Africa, Cassell & Co., Ltd. vi & 364 pp.).
As many' as four young to a litter have been reported (Roberts, Austin. 1951. The
mammals of South Africa. Trustees of "The Mammals of South Africa" Book Fund. xlviii &
700 pp.). Birth dates and sizes of the San Diego litters were: 25 June 1960 (2), 6
February 1961 (1),30 March 1962 (3),18 March 1963 (2) and 18 April 1965 (3). Sex
ratios were not detennined. The difficulty of distinguishing males from females of this
species with any degree of accuracy is well known, especially in young animals. The
peculiar anatomy of the female reproductive system has been described in detail (Matthews,
L. H. 1939. Reproduction in the spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta (Erxleben) Phil. Trans.
Roy. Soc. Lond. (B), 230, 1-78; Davis, Dwight D. and H. Elizabeth Story. 1949. The
female external genitalia of the spotted hyena. Fieldiana. Zoology 31 ( 33 ): 277-283.
Newborn spotted hyenas are dark brown in color. The average weight of three indi-
viduals was 1.46 kg. The eyes are open at birth, the ear pinnae fully erect and there are
definite reactions to sound and movements. Vocalization is almost identical to the
familiar chuckle: of the adult but sharper and higher pitched. The neonates have well-
developed claws and are remarkably active. Movement is accomplished chiefly through
use of the forelegs; one animal, however, was observed to stand full erect on all four
feet the day following birth. Another individual, not over 1 hour old, crawled several
feet away from the parent female and attempted to climb a vertical but rock-broken wall.
It succeeded in clearing the floor by 2-3 inches before slipping back to the floor.
Incisor and canine teeth are fully erupted and prominent at birth. The deciduous dental
formuIa is 3-1-0-0 th d f 3-1-4-1 E
3-1-0-0 as compared to e permanent 'con ition 0 3-1-3-1' ruption 0
· f the
cheek teeth of one individual began on the 31st day and consisted of one deciduous pre-
molar on each side of the lower jaw. Between the 35th and 44th day two upper premolars
on each side erupted. Thereafter, it became impossible to trace development because of
restraint problems and possible injury to the animal.
Replacement of juvenile pelage begins at about 7 weeks of age; adult pelage first appears
~s an ashy gray' patch above the eyes. During the next few weeks this area extends over
the face and cheeks until only the muzzle and crown of the head remain dark. Spotting
appears on the chest, throat and forelegs at about 9 weeks. A few days later faint, ill-
defined blotches are evident on the posterior appendages, and by the 14th week the
abdomen, sides and neck display adult spotting. Molt progresses dorsally and is virtually
completed at about the 18th week except for a persistent middorsal stripe extending over
the back, neck and top of the head. This stripe does not disappear until several months
later. The molt may not be complete until the animal is almost 9 .months old (Mohr, Ema.
1963. Von dreierlei hyanen, Das Tier, 3: 38-39).
The weight of one neonate (1.6 kg) doubled in 25 days, tripled on the 37th day and
by day 100 was 14.5 kg, approximately nine times the birth weight.-GEORGE H. POURNELLE,
San Diego Zoological Garden, San Diego, California. Accepted 29 April 1965.