From Jim Stockley #1

My son Jamie Stockley hand raised a pair of Spotted Hyena cubs in January 2004 for movie work.They would stand on a mark, grin on command and that kind of thing. We had our Hamadryas baboons riding them. As babies they were the most affectionate animals we ever had but as they matured they became HYENAS! Spotted Hyenas are born with their eyes open and their teeth fully developed and the first-born will often try to kill his sibling as he enters the world.... to give you an idea of what they're like !To work with them becomes very tiring as they are relentless and hunt for weakness in whoever is in the enclosure with them. They never stop and are at it all the time, constantly probing. By the time they were two and a half years old, "risk outweighed reward" and they both got retired to our Zoo. In hindsight I wish we had split them up and worked just one, it would have eliminated a lot of problems !Richard: Up to 1982 our Natal Zoological Gardens was one of the biggest captive breeders of Brown Hyena (You'll find the listings in the Int. Zoo Yearbook) As you say, ISIS records are incomplete. There are several South African Zoos that have Brown Hyenas and they have been re-introduced to northern KwaZulu-Natal at Itala. I've had them on film-sets, a much less aggressive proposition than their spotted cousins!very best JimStockley Trained Animal Consultants cc PO Box 36, Umlaas Road 3730 KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa VAT Number: 4910177668tel/fax 031 7851411mobile: 082 44 911 30SKYPE: JimStockleyemail: js114@pixie.co.zaURLs: www.stockley.co.zawww.imdb.com/name/nm2411946RSA Film Directories at:www.filmmaker.co.zawww.filmdirectory.co.za"Those of you who say it can't be done should notinterrupt those of us who are doing it." .... George Bernard Shaw