Rare aardwolf cubs born at Dvůr Králové Safari Park

The Safari Park Dvůr Králové has announced a rare conservation success - the birth of four cubs of the endangered aardwolf species. Aardwolves are extremely difficult to breed in human care and remain a rarity in European zoos. I asked the park’s spokesperson Michal Šťastný what makes this achievement so significant.

When were the aardwolf cubs actually born and how many do you have?

Young aardwolf (Proteles cristatus)|Photo: Helena Hubáčková, Safari Park Dvůr Králové

"The litter was born on April 1. It was a nice surprise for the breeders and the keepers. The babies are four in total. These are two males and two females, and they are being taken care of by the female, who is a skilled mother. She already had two litters. This is her third litter, and the babies look safe and sound.

"They were checked by the veterinarians last week, and everything seems OK. The babies are very agile, as is typical for aardwolf cubs, and everything is developing very well. We expect them to start exploring the outside enclosure within a few weeks, so visitors will be able to see them as well."

This is being described as quite a rare success. Why is breeding aardwolves in Europe such a big deal?

Young aardwolf (Proteles cristatus) during a medical examination|Photo: Helena Hubáčková, Safari Park Dvůr Králové

"Very much indeed. Aardwolves are specialists when it comes to food. They basically forage on termites, so they are very complicated in terms of diet. For that reason, European zoos have always struggled to find the right diet for them to stay healthy in human care.

"So that was the first challenge. Then also, the species is rather solitary, or to be more precise, we were not very sure about their social behaviour. For that reason, we had to start developing breeding programs based on how they live, how the animals deal with each other, whether they are able to stay together all the time or remain separated and only be introduced during the mating period. That was another challenge.

"Also, in terms of displaying the species to visitors, they are rather nocturnal, so they sleep most of the day. Building an enclosure that is interesting for visitors was another challenge.

"For all those reasons, aardwolves were not present in European collections for quite a long time, so there had been no breeding for over 30 years until 2024, when the first litter from our female was born. Since then, there have been three successes."

What makes an aardwolf different from other hyenas? Do they differ in looks?

Aardwolf (Proteles cristatus)|Photo: Helena Hubáčková, Safari Park Dvůr Králové

"That is quite correct. They are rare in human captivity and very elusive in the wild. The main way to distinguish aardwolves from other hyena species - there are four hyena species - is their size. They are the smallest ones.

"If you see a spotted hyena, which is quite common and well known, aardwolves are much smaller. They weigh about 14 kilos maximum as adults. They are striped and have a mane that makes them appear bigger if they feel threatened. In such moments, they raise the mane to look larger.

"The species has beautiful ‘stockings’ on their legs. Their legs are blackish with a nice pattern. Their teeth are adapted to their food, so if you look closely, they look quite simple, almost like beads, to help them feed on termites.

"Their ears are also very significant. They are huge, which makes them look very special and, I would say, quite cute."

How significant is it that the zoo keeps all existing hyena species, including the brown hyena, in terms of conservation or research?

Young aardwolf (Proteles cristatus) during a medical examination|Photo: Helena Hubáčková, Safari Park Dvůr Králové

"All hyena species are quite endangered due to human interference with their natural habitats, habitat destruction, human-wildlife conflict, and other factors. To be precise, aardwolves are not critically endangered, but in the wild there are threats, and their numbers are decreasing.

"There are several projects running in the wild, so conservation efforts are developing for the species. Of course, there are many other reasons for zoos to keep animals in their collections, including science, research, and education. For all those reasons, it is very important to be able to study and display animals like hyenas.”