Shy hyena cub decides to leave the den for the first time

This video shows the adorable moments of a shy baby hyena, hesitant at first, overcoming its fear of leaving the safety of the den, in order to reach its mother for a drink of milk.

While adult hyenas might not be the prettiest animals in the African wild, their babies on the other hand are a sight of cuteness overload. During the first three months, baby hyenas are pitch black little fur balls, adorable in all aspects. Seeing hyenas breeding in the wild and watching how they behave in their families is a rare and special opportunity for anyone going on safari. We have been lucky enough to observe and study a hyena family at their den site for three months. During that time, we were fortunate to share many special and adorable moments with these creatures in their natural environment. We arrived one morning at the den site only to find no one home. We decided to wait around a little and it was not long before a large female hyena arrived at the den site. She was the leader of the clan and a mother. The mother hyena came to a halt a few meters from the entrance of the den, carefully scanned her surroundings and went to lie down. The next moment one tiny hyena baby pops its head out of the den, clearly realising that mommy is back.

The baby hyena hesitantly came out the den a little more, staring at its mother lying a few meters away. The hyena cub looked a little shy and nervous to leave the den and go to its mother. The baby hyena retreated halfway back into the den, staring at its mother and checking out the surroundings. During the first two months the mother use to go lie right at the entrance of the den for her cub to drink, but now she is a ‘scary’ few meters away from the den. It was the little one’s first time to leave the den further than the entrance and it’s also the mother’s way to allow her offspring to start venturing a little further away from the den as they grow older. The baby hyena gave his head one shook, with a puff of dust lifting from its head and slowly gathered confidence.

The desire for milk clearly became overpowering while the baby hyena made these little crying sounds. Suddenly the cub couldn’t resist anymore and decided to run towards its mother with great excitement. There was only one thing on the cub’s mind and it went straight for mommy’s milk. It was such an adorable moment to watch the cute baby hyena finally making those ‘scary’ few meters to mommy. The mother hyena scanned her surroundings for danger one more time before going back to sleep while her baby peacefully drank its milk.