Spotted hyenas are highly intelligent social carnivores with complex female-dominated hierarchies. Their welfare in captivity requires social group management, cognitive enrichment, and dispelling the misconceptions that affect their care.
Spotted hyena welfare suffers from the dual challenge of their social complexity — which requires appropriate group management — and the cultural stigma that surrounds them, which can translate into lower-quality facilities and less public support for their welfare. Their cognitive complexity demands enrichment commensurate with a highly social, intelligent carnivore; cognitive enrichment including puzzle feeders, hidden food, and novel environmental challenges should form a routine part of their daily management. Social group stability is paramount: disruptive introductions and rank disruptions cause chronic stress in a species that invests heavily in social hierarchy maintenance. Positive reinforcement training for voluntary husbandry cooperation reduces stress significantly in this species that responds well to conditioning.