Kipenzi the Hyena (c.2006-2025)

Kipenzi (Kip), a 19-year-old striped hyena, died at the Living Desert, a zoo in Palm Desert, California, in July 2025, following a brief illness. He was transferred to the Living Desert from the San Diego Zoo in 2014. 

While spotted hyenas are most famous, there are three other species of hyenas: brown hyenas, aardwolves, and striped hyenas. Striped hyenas are the least studied. Striped hyenas live across the sub-Saharan, northwestern Africa, India, and Turkey. Scientists previously believed striped hyenas were solitary, but research suggests that striped hyenas have complex social structures. Unlike spotted hyenas, they are scavengers instead of hunters. They keep their habitats clean by consuming dead animals. Their digestive systems can handle all sorts of decaying matter, including feces. 

Striped hyenas are classified as near threatened by the IUCN. Fewer than ten thousand remain in the wild. Many people who live near striped hyenas have negative beliefs about them, labeling them grave robbers, killers, and even associate them with witches. Fear and superstition lead people to kill and abuse hyenas, shooting, poisoning, and running them over with cars. Striped hyenas are also poached for their skin, and their body parts are sometimes used in traditional medicine. Increasing habitat loss also threatens striped hyenas’ future.  

It is cruel to keep hyenas, who can run for miles without tiring, in small enclosures so people can gawk at them. Exhibiting hyenas does not protect them in the wild. World Animal Protection urges everyone who loves hyenas to avoid zoos and enjoy them at accredited sanctuaries or in the wild.