Michael Logan
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Hyenas or hyaenas ( / haɪˈiːnəz / hi-EE-nəz; from Ancient Greek ὕαινα, hýaina) [1] are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae / haɪˈɛnɪdiː /. With just four extant species (each in its own genus ), it is the fourth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the smallest in the class Mammalia. [2] .
- They are adept hunters. One of the longest standing false accusations against the spotted hyena is that they are purely scavengers. Particularly that they steal most of their food from lions.
- They are great mothers. When thinking of nature’s great mothers, a gorilla nestling her young baby in her arms or a cat nursing her kittens may come to mind; usually not a spotted hyena.
- They are amazingly intelligent. Often cast as being foolish and dull, perhaps due to the misunderstanding of their laugh or giggle vocalization, spotted hyenas show shocking signs of intelligence that rivals most wild animals in Africa.
- They can count. Studies have shown that spotted hyenas can determine the number of other hyenas in a rival clan and decide their best course of action.
- Savannah, woodland, scrub, bush
- Africa, Middle East, Asia
- 12 years in captivity
- Below 1m (3.3ft) tall, 1.7m (5.6ft) long
- There are dog-like and cat-like hyenas. A really long time ago, hyenas split into two groups. One branch evolved to be like dogs, and the other grew to look a bit more like cats, at least in the formation of their jaw.
- They’re bone crushers. As we mentioned, the dog-like hyenas went one way, and the cat-like hyenas another. The latter developed a useful survival tactic that may have helped them survive: they evolved to crush and eat bone.
- There was once a 200kg hyena that could crush elephant bones. One of these hyenas was an absolute monster. Pachycrocuta brevirostris, a giant hyena, and the largest bone-crusher ever known, evolved alongside early humans, and competed for the same food source.
- Their poo is white. Because of their incredible ability to digest basically everything, all that’s left in their waste is the calcium from all the bone they eat.
Learn about hyenas, the doglike scavengers and hunters that live in Africa and Asia. Find out their characteristics, behavior, diet, and threats from Britannica.
Learn about the four species of hyenas, their distinctive features, social structure, and diet. Find out how hyenas communicate, cooperate, and interact with humans and other predators.
Learn about hyenas, Africa's most common large carnivores, and their challenges, solutions, behaviors, and habitats. Find out how AWF works to protect hyenas from human-wildlife conflict and poaching.
Feb 8, 2024 · Learn how spotted hyenas, the most abundant large carnivores in Africa, hunt, socialize, and adapt to various habitats. Discover their advanced society, cognition, and ability to break stereotypes and myths.
