Hyenas back at Lion Park

Two hyenas that escaped from the Lion Park north-west of Johannesburg early on Wednesday morning were back home half an hour later, the park's general manager said.

"The power went off [at the park] early on Monday morning and the hyenas -- who will chew through wire and even iron bars -- managed to escape," said Earl Smith.

He said that a similar incident happened during an extended power outage in April, when the hyenas chewed through the usually electrified fences.

"The hyenas always try to escape if there is a long power failure. The lions don't try to escape."

Smith described hyenas as "shy and timid", adding they always ran away from humans. As such there was no threat to the public during the hyenas' 30 minute foray into freedom.

The hyenas were tracked by park employees and found in the vicinity of Malibongwe Drive. Details of their recapture were not immediately available.

Smith said precautions had been taken to prevent further escapes.