Hyena

With their somewhat sinister-sounding laughter, hyenas do not appear very sympathetic at first glance. But the animals fascinate with their interesting behavior in packs.

Characteristics

What do hyenas look like?

The hyena family belongs to the order of carnivores. At first glance, the animals look almost like dogs. However, they are not related to these but descend from ancestors who resemble the civets. They are therefore more closely related to animals such as mongooses or mongooses. There are three types.

Spotted hyenas grow up to 165 centimeters long, the tail measures up to 33 centimeters and they weigh up to 82 kilograms. The females are larger than the males, but otherwise hardly distinguishable from each other.

The fur of the spotted hyena is yellowish to gray with dark spots. The ears are round and hairy. Striped hyenas, on the other hand, are only 100-120 centimeters long, the tail measures 31 centimeters and they weigh 27 to 54 kilograms. The fur is long-haired.

Their unmistakable feature is the mane, which is up to 30 centimeters long and extends over the neck and back, which the animals can raise. The tail is longer in proportion to the body and bushier than that of the spotted hyena. Striped hyenas have grey-brown to dark brown fur with black stripes and hairless, pointed ears. Brown hyenas are grey-brown with a lighter back mane.

A typical feature of all hyenas is the front legs, which are significantly longer than the hind legs. Because the front body is also stronger than the rear body, hyenas have a strongly backward sloping back. What they all have in common are the large head and very strong teeth. Unlike cats or dogs, hyenas are amblers – they move their legs on one side of their body at the same time.

Where do hyenas live?

Spotted hyenas are found in sub-Saharan Africa. Striped hyenas live in the Near East and Central Asia, in India, and from North Africa to Kenya. Brown hyenas are very rare today, they are only found in South Africa, Rhodesia, and Mozambique.

Hyenas mainly live in savannas, bush areas, semi-desert, and mountainous regions. There they occur up to altitudes of 3000 to 4000 meters. Some of them live in abandoned burrows of other animals.

What types of hyenas are there?

There are two genera in the hyena family: Spotted hyenas form a genus with only one species. The striped hyena genus includes two species, the striped hyena and the brown hyena. The hyena’s closest relative is the aardwolf. It also belongs to the hyena family but forms its own subfamily.

How old do hyenas get?

Hyenas can live up to 20 years. In one zoo, a spotted hyena even lived to be 40 years old.

Behave

How do hyenas live?

Spotted hyenas are mostly nocturnal animals. They live in family groups of up to 100 animals in a territory that they mark with scents and defend against other packs of hyenas. The center of the territory is a cave in which the young are raised. Spotted hyenas are particularly good at seeing and hearing. Their sense of smell is even better, allowing them to smell carrion several kilometers away.

It used to be thought that hyenas only eat carrion. Today we know that carrion is only part of their prey. Nevertheless, they have an important task in nature. They serve – together with vultures – as health police: Because they remove carcasses, they help to curb the spread of epidemics and diseases.

Spotted hyenas are also successful hunters, killing animals such as antelopes in packs. They hunt at night. Often, however, they are contested for their prey by lions, against which the hyenas can hardly defend themselves. Conversely, hyenas also drive other predators away from their prey.

Spotted hyenas have very interesting social behavior. The packs are led by a female, males are always at lower ranks. And the higher the rank of a female, the higher the rank of her offspring will be in the pack.

Researchers have also found that hyenas adopt the cubs from mothers who died and raise them as their own. These adopted boys also have a higher rank than the others when adopted by a high-ranking mother. Hyenas in a pack have also been observed to defend each other when threatened.

Friends and foes of the hyena

Wild dogs, lions, and other hyenas can become dangerous to the hyenas. However, hyenas are most threatened by humans. They are hunted again and again because they sometimes attack livestock.

How do hyenas breed?

In contrast to wolves, for example, in hyenas not only the leader reproduces, but several females of the pack. Mating season can be all year round. After a gestation period of about 110 days, a female gives birth to two to three young.

They can see and walk immediately and even have teeth. So baby hyenas are not as helpless as young cats or dogs. Their fur is black and only gets its typical color and spots after about nine months.

Only the females take care of raising the young. The young are nursed by the mother for almost 18 months. Until they are 1 year old, they stay in and around the burrow and are always guarded by an adult animal. Then they can go hunting for the first time. Hyenas become sexually mature at the age of two to three years.

How do hyenas hunt?

Hyenas are also successful hunters. They hunt in packs and can reach speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour when chasing.

How do hyenas communicate?

When hyenas fight over prey or when they get upset with other predators, they emit the typical “laugh”: the animals make strange, chattering noises that are somewhat reminiscent of laughter and sound rather eerie to our ears. Hyenas also communicate with each other through various calls, body postures, and signals such as the position of the tail.