A striped hyena cub has been born at Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Nature Reserve, a small but telling milestone for a rewilding project that released four of the elusive scavengers into the northwest Saudi landscape less than a year ago.  Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Wildlife and NEOM announced the birth after camera monitoring recorded a female emerging from her den with the cub in August. The animals’ successful reproduction in the wild follows a carefully managed program that brought two breeding pairs to the reserve in November 2025.

Before their release, the hyenas underwent veterinary checks, health monitoring and rehabilitation at a National Center for Wildlife facility. Teams also assessed the release site and continued to follow the animals through tracking collars, field cameras and on-site observation. A planned feeding program was intended to help the animals transition toward natural foraging.

Dr. Mohammed Qurban, chief executive of the National Center for Wildlife, called the birth a turning point. “This is the first striped hyena birth following their reintroduction, and it marks an important milestone in the center’s wildlife breeding and reintroduction programs.”

The arrival of the cub is more than a welcome addition to the reserve. It suggests that the animals have adjusted to their new environment well enough to establish a breeding population, the real measure of whether a reintroduction can endure beyond its launch.

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