Hattiesburg Zoo’s Hyena, Kito, to relocate to Kansas Zoo for breeding program

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - The Hattiesburg Zoo’s one-year-old spotted hyena, Kito, is leaving the Hub City for a new home in the Midwest.

Kito is being moved to the Rolling Hills Zoo in Salina, Kan., where he’ll be part of a breeding project in the Species Survival Plan.

That’s a program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which helps ensure the survival of a selected species.

Kito was born last October at the Hattiesburg Zoo and was the only hyena born at a U.S. zoo in 2022.

His parents, mother, Pili, and father, Niru, will remain at the Hattiesburg Zoo.

“Not only is he going to be a part of the breeding program, but he’s going to be a fantastic exhibit animal as well,” said Kristen Moore, animal curator at the Hattiesburg Zoo. “People will learn a lot about hyenas through him.”

“I’m going to miss Kito,” said zoo visitor Bob Allhoff. “He’ll come over and see me at the gates here and socialize with me, but I realize why he’s going and it’s for the greater good.”

“We enjoy coming to the zoo and visiting, but we like to know about the educational aspects of it too, to see that we can help out another zoo with what we have here,” said Sam Bryson, another zoo visitor.

You still have a few days to say farewell to Kito.

He’ll be on exhibit with his parents through Sunday, Oct. 1.

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