Found throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa.

The length of her body is 128-166 cm, tail - 26-33 cm, weight from 59 to 82 kg.

Inhabits various landscapes from hot deserts to mountain forests, but prefers steppes and savannahs. In the mountains it rises up to 4000 m above sea level.

The spotted hyena is a typical corpse-eater - carrion is its main food. However, often hyenas themselves attack antelopes and other animals. The hyena's reputation as a cowardly scavenger, succumbing to the remains of lions' and other predators' prey, is firmly ingrained, but when research was done, it turned out that spotted hyenas- excellent hunters, in some cases even surpassing lions.

Active at night, in search of food during the night it can travel up to 70 km. Often found during the day, resting in the shade of trees or lying in shallow water. For reproduction, it uses caves, anteater burrows and other animals.

Very social view- hyenas live in a matriarchal clan, which is a territorial entity, occupying up to 1,800 km 2. A separate dominance hierarchy exists among males and females, but females dominate all males. High-ranking females have the first access to food and to resting places located near the entrance to the den. They also raise more young than lower-ranking females. High-ranking males have priority access to females. Males join new clans during the breeding season, showing constant submissiveness to females. Neighboring clans fight among themselves to protect their home areas. Territories are patrolled by clan members, and clan sites are demarcated by scent gland anal marks and faecal heaps containing large quantities white bone sediment.

A walking hyena can run relentlessly at a speed of about 10 km / h for many hours, but if necessary it can gallop at a speed of 40-50 km / h for at least several kilometers. The pinnacle of their speed run on short distances- approximately 60 km/h.

The spotted hyena is clearly a carnivore, but is extremely picky in its choice of food. Hyenas are both scavengers and hunters, feeding on corpses, dead animals, or picking up and eating any organic matter. They use every part of the body, including the bones. It is the most efficient of the scavengers due to its specific digestive system and active, highly acidic gastric juice. The hyena is capable of assimilating nutrients from bone tissue, skins and even feces of other predators. She is able to satisfy her hunger even with the corpses of dead relatives in the last stage of decomposition. Bones, horns, hooves and even teeth are digested completely within 24 hours. The hyena also pursues young and weak animals and animals with pathological changes. Some of their usual prey includes gazelles, zebras, rhinos, impalas, and other ungulates. She also takes mice and other small mammals, birds, reptiles, eggs, fruits, vegetables and insects.

Pregnancy lasts 98-99 days. There are usually 2 cubs in a litter, rarely 1 or 3.

brown hyena
Brown Hyena
(Parahyaena brunnea)

Lives in central Africa south of the Sahara desert, mainly in the Kalahari and Namib deserts. The range lies south of the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and southern Angola. In the territory South Africa the species is practically exterminated, except for the northernmost Transvaal and the Cape Province.

The body length is up to 1.2 m, of which 25-30 cm fall on the tail. On average, it weighs from 25 to 35 kg.

Inhabits barren savannahs, but has also been found in deserts. It mainly prefers grassy semi-deserts with a mosaic of shrubs, typical tropical savannah and woodland (with a well-developed layer of grass vegetation, under the forest layer).

It is the most carnivorous animal in the most barren parts of the Kalahari and Namib deserts. Here it feeds mainly on carrion. In the absence of carrion, it manages fruits, vegetables, marine organisms, insects and other invertebrates, and can also get small bustards and other birds, ostrich eggs, can hunt small mammals, lizards and occasionally poultry. She also attacks more big booty down to the size of young antelopes (particularly the springbok).

The brown hyena is a fairly solitary animal and is mostly active at night. Although this hyena has keen eyesight and hearing, it usually relies more on its sense of smell.

Brown hyenas live in clans, but they do not hunt in groups. Most clan members are close relatives, although sometimes immigrating males join the clan. Within the clan, relations between its members are much more peaceful than among other members of the hyena family, because the cubs are less aggressive towards each other. Older pups help guard younger, younger pups by sounding an alarm if a lion or other threat approaches their den. Although the clans are territorial, the females breed with nomadic migrating males. Males often leave their clan and join another clan (as do the occasional immigrant females) or become vagrants. Stray individuals represent one third of all adult males and 8% of the population, they are responsible for the reproduction of the species; resident local males rarely show sexual interest in the females of their clan.

Within clans, there is no seasonality and synchrony in reproduction. Pregnancy lasts 92-98 days. Usually there are 2-4 puppies in a litter. During the first three months after birth, the mother visits the cubs at sunrise and sunset to babysit them, spending up to 5 hours a night with them. Sexual maturity is reached at 2.5 years.

striped hyena
Striped Hyena
(Hyaena hyaena)

Found throughout North Africa, in much of Asia from mediterranean sea to the Bay of Bengal. Common in Northwest and Central India, becoming rarer towards the south, and absent from Ceylon, as well as from all countries further to the east; in sub-Saharan Africa it is also common in places, but becomes rare towards the south of the region.

The height at the withers is up to 80 cm, the weight of males is up to 55-60 kg. Males are larger than females.

Prefers foothills with dry channels, gullies, ravines, rocky gorges and labyrinths of caves. Lives in low clay hills with desert and steppe vegetation, overgrown in some areas with pistachio and juniper. Willingly inhabits areas overgrown with dense shrubs. Avoids high mountains and vast forests. Occasionally found in sandy desert, but the water source must be within 10 km. Prefers sparsely populated deserted areas, but sometimes visits gardens, vineyards and melons. Hyenas are not found in areas where there is a stable snow cover, and do not tolerate high humidity.

It is predominantly a nocturnal animal, although it occasionally roams during the day. Unlike the spotted hyena, it does not form packs. Feeds mostly on carrion. Often hyenas are content with the bare skeleton of ungulates, completely gnawed by other scavengers - in this case, powerful jaws come to the rescue, thanks to which hyenas easily gnaw any bones. It can be said that, with the deduction of feeding on carrion, the striped hyena is practically omnivorous - it catches any living creatures that it is able to cope with and that it can catch up with, eats insects, and destroys ground nests of birds. Spring in Central Asia and Transcaucasia, during the exit from the eggs of turtles, the hyena switches almost completely to them. The shell of even a large turtle is not a problem for hyena teeth. In addition, the hyena, like the jackal, can collect garbage. Plants are an important part of the diet. Hyenas willingly eat many types of succulent plants, but they especially love melons and watermelons, for which they raid melons. They eat nuts and seeds. Having eaten, hyenas often sleep near the feeding place.

In the north of the range, mating occurs in January-February, and in hotter countries it is not confined to a specific season. Pregnancy takes 90-91 days. There are 2-4 blind puppies in the litter, which begin to see in a week or a little more. Both parents appear to be involved in their upbringing, although in captivity, male hyenas may eat the brood. Young hyenas reach puberty at the 3-4th year.

Families exist for a number of years and consist of a male, a female and one or two, less often three grown-up young, who stay with their parents for at least a year. Such a family can live in isolation from relatives, but also two or three families can live close to each other, while each family has several of its own "towns". In the family, hyenas show sociability and friendliness, which are not characteristic of a hyena in relationships with other animals.

Aardwolf
Aardwolf
(Proteles cristatus)

Found in East and South Africa. Its range is torn apart by the tropical forests of Zambia and southern Tanzania, where this type not found.

Body length is only 55-95 cm, tail length is 20-30 cm, shoulder height is 45-50 cm. Adults weigh from 8 to 14 kg.

Inhabits open dry plains, found in agricultural lands. Avoids mountainous areas and deserts. Also not found in dry tropical forests. The habitat as a whole coincides with the distribution of termites of the family Hodotermitidae inhabiting grassy plains and savannahs. Earthwolves are kept solitary, although they usually live monogamously. couples. They aggressively protect their feeding territories from invasion, the sizes of which, depending on the availability of food, vary from 1 to 4 km 2. Active at twilight and at night, only in South Africa in winter does it switch to daytime activity, which corresponds to the behavioral patterns of its main food, termites. During the day, the earthwolf usually hides in underground shelters, usually in old aardvark burrows (which are built near termite mounds), as well as in empty porcupine and strider burrows. Able to dig their own holes.

Unlike real hyenas, the earthen wolf does not feed on carrion, but on termites and occasionally on other insects and their larvae (in particular dead-eating beetles, which he collects on animal corpses) and arachnids. Occasionally, the earthwolf catches small rodents and birds nesting on the ground, or eats their eggs. Does not depend on water sources, getting liquid from termites.

Earthwolves form monogamous pairs. However, if the male is unable to defend his territory, the female will mate with another, more dominant male, although the offspring will later be guarded by her regular partner. Pregnancy lasts approximately 90 days, the female brings 2-4 cubs. In South Africa, puppies are born from October to December; in warmer northern regions (Botswana, Zimbabwe) the breeding season is less pronounced. Puppies stay in the den for 3-4 weeks; lairs change about 1 time per month. Until 9 weeks old, puppies do not move more than 30 m from the den. 12-week-old pups begin to accompany their parents on feeding, but still do not move more than 300-500 m from the den. By 4 months, milk feeding stops and the young go to independent feeding, but remain with their parents until the next breeding season, that is, for 1 year. By the age of 2, young earthwolves reach sexual maturity.

One of interesting features the hyena is such that it is impossible to distinguish males from females: both have a phallus dangling between their hind legs. For "men" it is real, and for "women" it is false. No one has yet explained this natural twist. Maybe it's a disguise? Or are they hermaphrodites?

Be that as it may, the ladies, having received the scepter, appropriated social primacy for themselves - they established matriarchy. They even became physically larger (70 kg or more), which helps them with daily competitive contacts.

Constant observations of the behavior of the clan show that each of the ladies stands on a certain social step, and at the very top is the "queen". The amount of life's blessings they receive accordingly. High-ranking individuals are the first to prey, they get the best pieces, few dare to stand in their way, to challenge their right to own something.

Success is easier for sisters who fight side by side for power, but still one of them will be "number one", and someone - "number two" and so on. It happens that a lonely matron reaches the top of the hierarchy - if she has outstanding abilities. As a rule, this is the best and merciless of fighters, who also knows how to think and lead a team. The males became subordinate in everything. Each of them spends years to infiltrate the women's society, to gain a foothold there. They try to be useful to the clan - they mark and protect the territory, participate in hunting, fight with other clans or with lions. Among them, the highest rank belongs to those who have earned the approval of the leading female elite through a long, impeccable service. But their main role in the conditions of matriarchy is reduced to participation in reproduction.

Each clan has a rather extensive hunting territory. It is carefully guarded, marked with the smell of anal and finger glands, protected from neighbors. Migrating antelopes, unaware of such a distribution of land, enter into the possession of one or another clan, becoming the object of attention, and then the hunt of the owners. Prey caught on the border can go "from paw to paw" up to a dozen times until there is nothing left of it. If the antelope, while chasing, ran into someone else's territory, then the chances of enjoying its taste from the initial pursuers are small - most likely, it will have to be left to the host neighbors under the pressure of their superior forces.

Hyenas love their little children very much, caress them and lick them incessantly. The same tender relationship between young couples, between sisters and brothers. When you look at the playing, caressing fluffy animals, you can’t believe that these are predators - a thunderstorm for the entire savannah.

Children who appear once a year deep underground immediately acquire the rank of a mother and very soon begin to behave accordingly: dominants take away food from others, mark everything around with their smell, can punish anyone; "rabble" keeps modestly, "tail between its legs". Females feed only their own children - strangers will be doomed if their mother died in a skirmish. The grown puppy hurries along with everyone to the prey.

The main inclinations absorbed with mother's milk are selfishness, individualism, and not collectivism (as, for example, in hyena dogs). The cubs are brought up as individuals who are ready to "grab everyone by the throat" for their piece.

Another feature of hyenas is their fantastic resistance to bacteria and viruses. In 1987, more than 4,000 hippos died from anthrax in Luangwe. All of them were eaten by hyenas, thus stopping the spread of infection. At the same time, the number of "fighters" increased sharply in a short period. I imagine how hard it became for them to feed later, when the hippos ran out and other forces came into play to regulate the number of flocks.

Another peculiar quality of hyenas is the incredible strength of their jaws. There are no unbitten, uneaten bones left after them. Even horns and hooves they are able to absorb when they are hungry. Not without reason in the African savanna there are no lying skeletons or horned skulls of fallen antelopes (as, for example, in Central Asia): hyenas "sweep" everything. Their stomach can hold up to 15 kilograms of meat, bones, in general, any organic matter at a time. All this is perfectly digested, the maximum of nutrients is extracted.

Some nomadic peoples have a custom to leave their dead in the middle of the desert, where our heroes find them. Others use hyenas as scavengers for entire towns and cities. Still others consider them demons of the night, the embodiment of evil, dark forces that sorcerers deal with in magical rituals. In any case, the role of hyenas as orderlies of nature is truly priceless. They are indispensable in the savannah and desert.

Alas, we often build our attitude towards someone based on appearance, often accept the opinion imposed by the TV. And this happens with early childhood. We watch cartoons in which there are kind, brave and smart characters, but there are stupid, mean and evil ones. Good heroes we love, but evil, of course, no. Remember the cartoon "The Lion King"? Here the authors of this cartoon easily inspired all the children that the lion is good, and the hyena is bad.

Lions have a historically good reputation. They have long been depicted on coats of arms. Lions symbolized courage, strength, beauty and intelligence. I do not want to destroy your ideas about the king of beasts, especially since this is not about them. But the erroneous idea about hyenas, which has stuck to them completely undeservedly, I would like to change.

So, to start with, most of you think that hyenas are scavengers. This is not entirely true. Yes, they eat carrion, but carrion makes up no more than 30% of their diet. In most cases, the hyena hunts on its own. The hyena is not a very fast animal, but incredibly hardy. She is capable of chasing her prey for hours.

The hyena is often shown as a cowardly animal that can only attack in packs. This is not true either. In the struggle for food, one or two hyenas are able to fight even with lions.

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And hyenas are very intelligent creatures. They learn quickly, are able to transfer knowledge to other hyenas in the pack, instantly adapt to new conditions.

But the main purpose of hyenas, no matter how strange it may sound, is to take care of the health of animals in the savannah. Yes, hyenas, along with the African vulture (vulture), clean the savannah. By feeding on carrion, they prevent the possible spread of disease. Hyenas and vultures clean up carcasses abandoned by other predators. Birds gnaw on the smallest pieces of meat, and powerful jaws and sharp teeth allow hyenas to gnaw even bones, thereby leaving no traces of a dead animal behind.

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IN last years the number of scavenger birds (mainly vultures) has sharply decreased, which has affected the growth of diseases of ungulates, which are food for all predators. If the hyena population begins to decline, this may lead to irreversible processes and, having lost some, we will lose dozens of other species ...

The brown hyena, also called the brown hyena, lives in Central Africa, mostly in the Kalahari and Namib deserts. Their range stretches from the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe to Namibia and southern Angola. In South Africa, brown hyenas are almost completely destroyed, with the exception of the Cape Province and the Transvaal.

Features of the appearance of a brown hyena

Brown hyenas are much smaller than spotted hyenas - the body length is 71-82 centimeters, plus a tail 25-30 centimeters long. The average weight varies from 25 to 35 kilograms, and the maximum body weight is 39 kilograms. Males are slightly heavier than females.

In isolated areas - the provinces of Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape - exceptionally large individuals weighing about 70 kilograms were found.

This species has typical for the family external signs: reverse tilt of the body, large head, long and strong legs. The head is broad, the ears are narrow, the teeth are large. The front legs are much better developed than the hind legs. Fingernails do not retract.

The mane of the brown hyena is very long, not upright and shaggy, it runs along the back and hangs down on the sides of the body. The color of the mane is much lighter than the color of the whole body. The coat is a solid brown color, and the stripes are located only on the legs. Bottom part body is lighter. The tail is shaggy.

The anus has odorous glands, a secret with an unpleasant odor is secreted from them, so hyenas smell bad.

Brown hyena habitat

This species is endemic to the dry and barren regions of southern Africa. Although the range of brown hyenas has been significantly reduced in Lately, they are still quite numerous in southern Africa. They have learned to survive close to humans.

Mostly brown hyenas live in barren savannahs, they also live in deserts. Brown hyenas prefer semi-deserts, savannas and wooded area. They hunt and hide in rocky areas.

The lifestyle of brown hyenas

These are fairly solitary animals that are active mainly at night.


Although brown hyenas excellent hearing and vision, most often they rely on a keen sense of smell, with which they detect carrion and other prey. Feeling the prey, the hyena runs quickly, overcoming a considerable distance to arrive at the place first than the rest of the scavengers.

During the dry season, brown hyenas are actively looking for food, they hunt for about 10 hours, while walking 30-50 kilometers a day.

Fortunately, there is more food during the rainy season, so the hyenas don't have to travel as much.

Brown hyenas live in clans, but they hunt alone. Most of the group are close relatives, but sometimes migrating males join the clan. Within the clan, relations are more peaceful than among other hyenas, and the cubs are not as aggressive towards each other. Older pups even guard their younger counterparts and make alarming sounds when a predator approaches their lair.

Females mate with migrating males. Females and some males remain with the clan even after maturation, which occurs at 2.5 years. But most often, males leave their clan and join someone else's, or constantly migrate.


The brown hyena encounter takes place in the den, when the hyenas are outside the den, it is a loner. Individuals forage alone and can only gather in a few pieces near a large carcass.

Juveniles rest near the den and play, while grabbing each other's manes with their teeth. These games are so tough that all the cubs have numerous scars on their necks.

IN conflict situations hyenas raise their manes on their backs and necks. Brown hyenas have overdeveloped chemical communication. There are scent marks throughout the clan's territory. Each individual has unique scent, so other hyenas are able to identify each other. Brown hyenas have two types of odorous secretions. One has a short effect, it disappears after a few hours, with the help of this secret, the hyenas will find out where the individual got food. The second secret has a persistent aroma that does not fade for a month, with the help of which the hyena strengthens its position in the clan.


The coastal hyena is the largest land animal, whose diet consists mainly of carrion.

Brown hyenas, like spotted hyenas, are very vocal, but unlike their counterparts, they do not make cackling sounds. The brown hyena can most often be heard at night. When individuals quarrel over food, they growl, whine and howl.

Listen to the voice of the brown hyena

natural enemies brown hyenas are lions and common hyenas.


Nutrition of brown hyenas

In the Namib and Kalahari deserts, brown hyenas feed mainly on carrion. If there is no carrion, then hyenas pass to fruits, vegetables, termites, locusts, dung beetles, small birds, rodents, lizards. Occasionally they attack domestic birds. Also, brown hyenas can attack larger prey, such as young antelope.

During the rainy season, leftovers from the meals of cheetahs, lions and leopards are the basis of the diet of brown hyenas. In the dry season, the percentage of vegetables and fruits decreases sharply in the diet, so melons become the main source of moisture for them during the 8 months of drought.


The jaws of the brown hyena are not as powerful as those of the spotted hyena, but it is able to bite through an ostrich egg. Hyenas, like foxes, stock up on food. They also bring additional food to the den by feeding the pups.

Brown hyenas can chase small game for a short distance, but only one out of 6-10 hunting attempts is successful.

Reproduction of brown hyenas

Seasonality in mating season brown hyenas are not observed. Females mate with various nomadic males. Some males mate with females and leave the clan, while others remain after mating and take part in raising offspring. If the female dies, then other females begin to feed her babies.


Pregnancy lasts 92-98 days. There are usually 2-4 babies in a litter. The first 3 months, the mother comes to the cubs at sunrise and sunset, and spends about 5 hours with them. There are juveniles in the den so the puppies don't get bored and the mother doesn't have to come over too often. As the babies grow, their milky diet is supplemented by the meat that the mother and other clan members bring to the den.

When the babies begin to feed on solid food, the mother comes to them once a day, staying with them for about half an hour. And teenagers aged 8 months can stay on their own for 2-3 nights.

At 10 months, young individuals already begin to hunt on their own, foraging near the den. Over time, the range of their sorties increases. Females feed their offspring with milk for 10 months, and wean them completely at 15 months. The juveniles continue to return to the den where they socialize, play and sometimes receive additional food from the males. Brown hyenas begin to breed at least 2.5 years.


Coast hyenas are social animals that can live in clans.

Brown hyena population

Brown hyenas are useful animals, as they eat carrion and clear the area of ​​infected remains. Occasionally they harm people by attacking poultry.

The number of brown hyenas in Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe Botswana and Zambia is about 5070-8020 individuals. It is also believed that about 220 brown hyenas live in Lesotho, Angola and Mozambique. As of 1995, 16 brown hyenas were registered in zoos.

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Hyenas live throughout Africa, the Middle East and India. Although hyenas are known as scavengers, one of the most skilled and accomplished predators belongs to their species.
(Total 39 photos)

Hyenas evolved to modern look at the end of the Miocene (9±3 million years ago). Their ancestors belonged to the civet family, and the first representatives of the hyena species looked like civet, or civet. At that stage of development, they had strong teeth capable of chewing through bone. And today such teeth are hallmark one of the current existing species. In the Pleistocene, which began about 2 million years ago, there was an animal known as the cave hyena. It was twice the size of the largest living hyena.

The spotted hyena is the largest and most widespread in Africa. Its habitat is very diverse - deserts, bushes, forests throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the extreme south and the Congo Basin. Two other types of hyenas live in the same territory. The fur of the spotted hyena is long and hard, khaki or light brown with dark spots. irregular shape. The tips of the paws and tail and muzzle are dark brown or even black, and on the neck and shoulders there is a short stiff mane.

The brown hyena occupies the smallest territory, but seems to be able to survive in almost any habitat. It is found in the desert, in areas overgrown with grass and shrubs, in the forest and on the coast of South Africa. Its dark brown fur is much longer and shaggy than that of the spotted hyena. It is especially thick on the shoulders and on the back. Therefore, the hyena looks larger than it really is.

The striped hyena - the smallest of the three species - lives north of its relatives. It prefers open areas in east and north Africa, the Middle East, Arabia, India and the southwest of the former Soviet Union. It rarely settles further than K) km from the water. She has gray or light brown fur, duck and shaggy, with transverse dark brown stripes, and on her back is a stiff mane up to 20 cm long.

In all hyenas, the shoulders are higher than the back of the body, and the spine is not parallel to the ground, but at a significant angle. They have a bouncing, rocking gait because they are pacers. Spotted hyenas have rounded ears, while brown and striped hyenas have pointed ones.

Although hyenas can often be found during the day, they are more active at dusk and at night, and during the day they prefer to rest in or near the den. The hyena's house is equipped either by expanding the holes of other animals, or by finding a secluded place among the rocks or in the forest. Hyenas are very attached to their territory, they vigilantly guard the space around the lair, and also consider a larger hunting area as their own. The size of this area can vary considerably, depending on the amount and availability of food. Hyenas mark their territory with secretions from their anal glands and scent glands between their toes, as well as urine and feces. The most developed anal scent glands are found in the brown hyena. She distinguishes two types of secret - white and black paste, with which she marks mainly grass.

Spotted hyenas are perhaps the most social of all hyenas. They live large groups, or clans, in which there can be up to 80 individuals. Most often, the clan consists of 15 animals. The female hyena is larger than the male and occupies a dominant position, which is not often found among predators.

Here is a small series of shots from Peter Hugo (born 1976 and raised in Cape Town, South Africa). He is a South African photographer who specializes mainly in portraits and his work is related to the cultural traditions of African communities. Hugo himself calls himself "a politician-photographer with a small p." One of the most famous works of this photographer is the Hyenas and other people series. For his portrait of a man with a hyena, Hugo won a prize in the Portraits category at the 2005 World Press Photo competition.

The greeting ceremony for both sexes and all ages is quite elaborate - each animal raises its hind leg so that the other can sniff its genitals. They also maintain contact with screams and other sounds, of which few are heard by the human ear. Hyenas have a loud, distinct voice and can be heard from miles away. Sometimes the spotted hyena is called laughing because of its cry, similar to laughter. Brown hyenas lead a more solitary lifestyle. They live in families of 4-6 individuals, and hunt alone. As a sign of greeting, brown hyenas also sniff each other, head and body, while bristling their mane, but they produce much less different sounds.
Nutrition

Until recently, it was believed that all hyenas are scavengers and feed on the remains of carcasses of animals killed by other predators. It turned out, however, that the spotted hyena, thanks to its sharp eyesight, excellent sense of smell, and also social image life is one of the most skillful and dangerous predators.

The spotted hyena can hunt alone, but often pursues prey in packs. Hyenas reach speeds of up to 65 km / h, so they can catch up with animals such as zebra and wildebeest. They grab the prey by the legs or sides and hold it in a stranglehold until it falls. Then the whole flock pounces on her and in literally words are torn to pieces. A hyena can eat 15 kg of meat in one sitting. Most often, they chase antelopes shortly after their cubs are born, because the babies are easy prey.

The jaws of the spotted hyena are one of the most powerful of all predators. With them, she can even scare away a lion and a tiger and easily gnaw through the largest bones of a buffalo. Digestive system The hyena is designed in such a way that it can digest bones. Their stool white color due to the high content of calcium from the bones eaten.

The nutrition of the spotted hyena depends on its habitat and season. The hyena's menu includes rhinoceros, lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes and all kinds of antelopes that live in their habitat, as well as insects, reptiles and some grass. They eat any carrion that comes their way, and sometimes rummage through the garbage near a human dwelling. There are always many contenders for a killed victim, so the animals tear off as large a piece as possible from the corpse and run away with it so that someone does not tear the meat out of their teeth.

They feed on carrion, looking for it with the help of a keen sense of smell. They hunt alone and in pairs. Most often, small vertebrates, as well as domestic lambs and kids, become their prey. Their diet also includes insects, eggs, fruits and vegetables. If the hyena finds a large tunga, it can chew off a larger piece and hide it in a secluded place to dine on next time.

Brown hyenas also feed on discarded shore of the dead fish and corpses of marine animals.

The time that hyenas spend hunting and looking for food depends on the availability of food. Brown hyenas spend 10 or more hours a day looking for food.

Hyenas breed at any time of the year, however the largest number babies are born between August and January. Spotted hyenas mate with members of their own clan, among brown hyenas, a male traveler mates with a female living in a group that he met on the way. Pregnancy lasts for a brown hyena for 110 days. A litter most often consists of two puppies. Childbirth takes place in a hole - a large hole in an open area overgrown with grass (part of such a landscape is visible in the photograph). Several females gather in one hole and together produce offspring. Unlike almost all predators, dark brown puppies are born with open eyes. In addition, they already have teeth. If necessary, puppies can run immediately after birth.

All puppies remain in the hole under the supervision of one or two females. They come to the surface of the earth so that their mother can feed them with milk, but for safety reasons they do not leave the hole until they are about 8 months old. At this age, they go hunting or looking for food with their mother. Hyenas never bring prey into the burrow, so that predators cannot locate the shelter by the strong smell of carrion. Spots appear at 4 months. In a year and a half, puppies are “weaned”.

In brown and striped hyenas, the gestation period is shorter - 90 days. The litter of the brown hyena consists of two puppies, the striped hyena - of five. In both species, puppies are born blind and defenseless, their eyes open after two weeks. In family groups of brown hyenas, not only the mother, but any of the females can feed the baby with milk. After the puppies are three months old, all members of the family will bring them food to the hole.
By the end of the first year, the mother stops feeding the puppies with milk, but they remain in the family for a few more months.

In the first half of the XX century. hyenas were considered pests, dangerous for the inhabitants of the reserves, and destroyed. This species has been practically exterminated in the south of South Africa. Thanks to collective hunting and social distribution of food, spotted hyenas have more successfully resisted human aggression than the other two species, and have survived in greater numbers.

Brown and striped hyenas are on the verge of extinction in many regions. Man practically exterminated them because they damage him household. Another reason for the decrease in the number of species is the active development of new lands by humans and competition with a more adapted species - spotted hyenas.

This is how Aristotle spoke about this beast: “They were treacherous and cowardly; they greedily tormented carrion and laughed like demons, and they also knew how to change sex, becoming either females or males for no reason. Alfred Brehm also did not find kind words for them:

"Few animals have such fantastic story like hyenas... Do you hear how their voices resemble satanic laughter? So know that the devil really laughs in them. They have already done a lot of evil!”

Elian, the author of Motley Tales and On the Nature of Animals, wrote: “On a full moon, the hyena turns its back to the light, so that its shadow falls on the dogs. Bewitched by the shadow, they become numb, unable to utter a sound; the hyenas carry them off and devour them.”

Pliny was a little “kinder” to them, he considered the hyena a useful animal, in the sense that many medicinal potions could be made from it (Pliny cited a whole page of them).

Even Ernest Hemingway, who was well aware of the habits of various animals, knew only that hyenas are "hermaphrodites that defile the dead."

It is not surprising that such an unattractive animal did not interest the researchers very much. This is the unflattering information that was passed from book to book, turning into facts that no one really checked.

And only in 1984 at the University of Berkeley (this is in California) a center for the study of hyenas was opened. Scientists working there have learned a lot about these unusual animals.

The hyena family includes four species: spotted, brown, striped hyena and an earth wolf. The latter is very different from its relatives: smaller than other hyenas, and feeds mainly on insects, occasionally preys on chicks or small rodents. The earthen wolf is very rare, it is listed in the International Red Book.

Now hyenas are rightfully considered the orderlies of African expanses. Eating the corpses of dead animals, these animals prevent the spread of diseases in the savannas and deserts. Many scientists believe that without these creatures despised for centuries, the savannah could well turn into a fetid wasteland.

So why are these laughing animals amazing? Let's start with the fact that the body of hyenas has a really fantastic resistance to microorganisms. An example is the anthrax epidemic in Luangwe in 1897, when more than four thousand hippos died from this disease. And their corpses, which contributed to the spread of the disease, were eaten by hyenas. And not just without harm to themselves: the laughing orderlies also managed to significantly increase their number, having gorged themselves on gratuitous grubs.

In addition, hyenas have very powerful jaws that can gnaw through bones, horns, and hooves. That's why in African savannas there are practically no animal skeletons.

The next feature of hyenas is that at first glance, and from the second, and from the third, it is also almost impossible to figure out where he is and where she is. The reason is that where males have a male “aggregate”, females have something strikingly similar to it, which, upon closer examination, turned out to be a hypertrophied clitoris. That is why the hyena for a long time thought to be hermaphrodites.

The reason for such impressive "female virtues" is testosterone, the level of which in the blood of pregnant females increases tenfold, while in other mammals at this time the amount of its "enemy" - estrogen - increases. Testosterone is responsible for the formation of male traits, scientists explain to them and aggressive behavior females. By the way, the head of the pack is the female. In some animals, the leader may be either a male or a female. For hyenas, only a lady can be the main one. The fair sex in hyenas is generally larger, stronger and more aggressive than males, who lead a very submissive lifestyle.

But, despite all this, hyenas are very caring mothers. Driving off the males from the prey, they are the first to let the cubs near it. By the way, the hyena feeds its babies with milk for about 20 months. However, it must be said that a mother has tender feelings only for her children. When hyenas go hunting, their cubs remain under the supervision of "guards" who will protect them, but they will never feed them, if something happens to their mother...

Hyena babies are also unusual. Let's start with the fact that experts have not yet agreed on what to call them: kittens or puppies, since they have not decided which of the families is closer. But no matter how they are called, the cubs are born sighted, with sufficiently developed teeth and very angry. For them, natural selection begins right from the moment they are born. Every kitten (or puppy) wants to be not the first among his siblings, but the only one. The reason for all this is the same testosterone, which literally rolls over in these pretty-looking crumbs. After a while, its level drops, and the surviving cubs begin to live more or less amicably.

Hyenas are good runners. While hunting, they can reach a speed of 65 km / h and keep it for five kilometers. Watching these animals, experts disproved another myth about the laughing inhabitants of Africa. It is hunting, and not the search for dead animals, that is the main way for hyenas to get food. They prey mainly on wildebeest, eating approximately 10% of their number each year, thereby helping to control their numbers.

And carrion orderlies of the savannah eat in the dry periods of the year. Then herbivorous animals leave in search of water and food, leaving behind the corpses of less hardy relatives. But no matter how the hyenas get food, when they get to it, the animals eat everything, including bones, horns and hooves, they can even lick the grass clean. In a fit of this gastronomic passion, hyenas may well bite the paw or muzzle of an inattentive companion without even noticing it.

After eating, the animals indulge in an afternoon rest, lying down in the shade and sprinkling themselves with earth. In general, they like to take different baths - water, mud, and dust. One feature is connected with this passion of theirs, which clearly does not make African orderlies attractive in the eyes of a person: hyenas really like to wallow in half-decomposed remains. It is quite clear that after such a procedure, the animal smells, to put it mildly. Moreover, as scientists have found out, the more expressive this fragrance is, the more respectfully they treat its owner. But the hyenas remained indifferent to the floral aromas on the wool of their fellow tribesmen ...

Here they are, laughing orderlies of African expanses.