Zookeepers in Japan have abandoned a years-long attempt to have two spotted hyenas mate and reproduce as both turned out to be male. The Maruyama zoo in Sapporo, northern Japan, said in a statement this week that it was given the animals as a “male and female couple” in October 2010 from a zoo in the South Korean city of Daejon. “We have attempted to house them together for breeding many times but they often fought against each other and never engaged themselves in breeding behaviour,” the statement said.[SNIP]