A young pair of one of the world’s rarest carnivores has arrived at Newquay Zoo in Cornwall.
The zoo is now the only one in south-west England, and one of just two in the UK, to house the endangered brown hyena, also known as the strandwolf.
Flo and Quinn, a sibling pair aged just under two years old, arrived on Wednesday from Hamerton Zoo Park in Cambridgeshire.
John Meek, curator of plants and animals at Newquay Zoo, said:
“For people to be able to see them up close is a powerful reminder of why zoo conservation matters.”
He described brown hyenas (Parahyaena brunnea) as one of Africa’s least understood carnivores—shy, solitary, and incredibly well adapted for survival in some of the harshest environments on Earth.
Brown hyenas are the rarest of the four hyena species, with as few as 5,000 individuals remaining in the wild, mainly across southern Africa.
Mr. Meek emphasized the species’ critical ecological role as nature’s clean-up crew:
“They help maintain ecosystem health by consuming carcasses that would otherwise spread disease and by recycling nutrients back into the environment.”
These perfectly adapted scavengers consume nearly every part of a carcass, including bones, and also supplement their diet with fruit, eggs, and insects.
Flo and Quinn have been moved into Newquay Zoo’s former lion enclosure, now redesigned to suit their needs. The new habitat includes sheltered areas, naturalistic landscaping, and enrichment features to promote natural behaviors.