Dystocia causing postrenal azotemia in a captive spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

A 3-year-old, female spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) was referred with dystocia. The hyena had been in labor for over 5 days, but she failed to expel the infant. The blood biochemistry profiles showed severe azotemia During caesarian section, we confirmed that the uterus had expanded and contained 1 dead, decayed infant, which compress the urethra, leading to the expansion of the urinary bladder and that the dead fetus was nearly 3 kg in weight (approximately 5% of the maternal weight). Thus, we confirmed that the dystocia caused by oversized fetus and malposture, and the severe azotemia resulted in compression of the urethra by fetus in the hyena. This report is thefirst to show that the dystocia can induce postrenal azotemia in female spotted hyenas.