The hyena who changed his spots

Twenty-month-old Odi is no ordinary pet - even though he loves it when his handlers allow him to splash around in an old steel drum.

Rejected by his mother right after birth, Odi now lives with his adopted family at Predator World Zoo near Sun City in the North West province.

The private zoo, which getsmore than 80 visitors a day - including the likes of Kate Hudson, Mariah Carey and Jackie Chan - features white lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals and reptiles among others.

But unlike the other predators, the energetic hyena was hand-reared by Marcell Tournier and his girlfriend San-Mare Pretorius.

Pretorius, who describes Odi as a "gentle giant", said the highlight of the hyena's day was bath time.

"He just loves physical contact," she said.

Tournier said Odi's day usually involved sleeping until noon, then keeping them busy for the rest of the day until late into the evening.

In between sleeping and playing, the 70kg hyena devours 15 to 25kg of meat.

Odi, who shares the couple's home on the zoo premises, has also been known to rip through the house's plumbing, tear down the front door and gnaw the cars' side-view mirrors.

Although Odi possesses bone-crushing jaws, he considers Tournier to be the alpha male and Pretorius the dominant female of his group.

"If he's scared of something he comes running to me," said Tournier.

The couple have now found a female companion for Odi and are preparing to introduce them, a process that could take a few months.

The two hyenas will also be moved into a specially designed enclosure where they can be viewed by the public.