People have always disliked hyenas, considering them ugly, cowardly and sinister creatures. However, these accusations are unfair. In fact, hyenas are unusually interesting and intelligent animals with an amazing social organization.

Hyenas (Huaenidae) are a predator family of mammals. They are distributed in the semi-deserts, steppes and savannas of Africa, Arabia, India and Western Asia.

The family unites only 4 species of hyenas in 4 genera. Let's get to know them better.

Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)

This species is found in North Africa, on the Arabian Peninsula and in the border regions of Asia.

The hair of the striped hyena is long, from light gray to beige. On the body there are from 5 to 9 vertical stripes, on the throat there is a black spot.

Brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea)

The brown (coastal) hyena is common in South Africa and southern Angola. Most often it can be found along the western coast of Namibia. Inhabits semi-deserts and open savannahs. It avoids those places where its brothers hunt - spotted hyenas, since the latter are much larger and stronger.

The coat is shaggy, black-brown in color, while the neck and shoulders are lighter. The limbs have white horizontal stripes.

Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

Found in sub-Saharan Africa except in the rainforests of the Congo Basin and the extreme south.

The coat is short, sandy, red or brown. There are dark spots on the back, sides, sacrum and limbs.

In this species, the external genitalia of males and females are difficult to distinguish, hence the myth that these animals are hermaphrodites.

Earthwolf (Proteles cristatus)

The earthen wolf, classified as a hyena, lives in South and East Africa.

It feeds exclusively on insects, licking them from the ground with a long, wide tongue. More information about this species can be found in the article.

External Features

Outwardly, hyenas resemble dogs with a large head and a powerful body. Distinctive features are long forelimbs, a relatively long neck and a hanging back.

The body length of animals, depending on the species, is 0.9-1.8 meters, weight - 8-60 kg. The smallest species is the earth wolf, the largest is the spotted hyena.

The structure of the body eloquently speaks of adaptability to feeding on carrion. The front of the body is more powerful than the back, which is why the hyena has a characteristic sloping back. With elongated forelimbs, the beast tightly presses the carcass to the ground. Strong jaws and teeth, as well as powerful chewing and neck muscles, help the animal, like a secateurs, cut meat and crush bones, extracting a nutritious brain from them.

Lifestyle

Hyenas are active mainly at dusk and at night. Very strong jaws and teeth, an efficient digestive system, and the ability to travel long distances all make hyenas successful scavengers.

Food and hunting

The carcasses of dead animals form the basis of the diet of brown and striped hyenas. They supplement their menu with invertebrates, wild fruits, eggs, and occasionally small animals that they manage to kill.

Spotted hyenas are not only effective scavengers, but also good hunters. They are capable of chasing prey at a speed of 60 km/h, while covering a distance of up to 3 km. They usually hunt young large antelopes (oryx, wildebeest). They can cope with an adult zebra, and often with a buffalo.

Spotted hyenas often hide food in silty water bodies. If they are hungry, they return to their hiding places.

Hyenas have an unusually well-developed sense of smell: they can smell the smell of decaying meat located a few kilometers away.

Earthwolves in terms of nutrition are fundamentally different from their relatives. The basis of their diet is termites and insect larvae.

Interestingly, termites try to defend themselves by splashing with a burning substance, but there is no control over the earthen wolf. Its bare nose is so dense that insects cannot bite through it.

Brown hyenas prefer to hunt alone; their spotted relatives often form groups.

Since carrion is easy to find by smell, brown hyenas do not need to search for food in common. In addition, the amount of food that they get is usually only enough for one individual, so the collective search for food would lead to competition between individuals.

The collective hunting strategy of spotted hyenas can be explained by the greater likelihood of success when the efforts of group members are combined. In addition, a large victim, which they can get together, allows you to feed many animals at the same time.

In the photo: spotted hyenas gathered near the carcass of an antelope. Group eating is often accompanied by very loud noise, but rarely by serious contractions. Each animal can eat up to 15 kg of meat in one sitting!

Family life

All types of hyenas, except for the earthen wolf, live in groups (clans). Clan members occupy common territory and together protect it from neighbors.

The spotted hyena clan is dominated by females, and even the highest-ranking males are subordinate to the lowest-ranking females. Males leave their native clan, being on the threshold of maturity. They are adjacent to new group and gradually rise up the hierarchical ladder to gain the right to participate in reproduction. Females tend to remain in the maternal clan and inherit their mother's rank.

In brown hyenas, clans are built somewhat differently. Some males and females leave their home group during adolescence, others remain in it for a long time, sometimes for life. Males who have left their native family join another clan or lead a wandering lifestyle.

The sizes of clans vary both in different species and within one species, depending on environmental conditions. The most numerous families are usually in spotted hyenas: they sometimes have more than 80 individuals.

In brown hyenas, a clan can only consist of a female and her cubs of the last litter.

The size of the territory occupied by the clan also varies considerably, but it is usually determined by the abundance of food resources. For example, in the Ngorongoro Crater, wildebeest and zebra population density allows a large clan to exist in a small area. And in the arid climate of the Kalahari, where hyenas often have to cover a distance of 50 km in search of prey, the territory occupied by the group is much larger.

Communication

The social systems of hyenas are extremely complex.

First, animals have an effective system of communication at a distance using smells. Distinctive feature of all hyenas is the presence of an anal sac, which they use for a unique type of scent marking. It's called "smearing". Striped and spotted hyenas produce a thick sticky secret of one species, their brown relatives produce a fat white secret and a secret in the form of a black sticky mass. The animal touches the grass stalk with its anal gland and passes it along the stalk, moving forward, leaving a mark. There can be up to 15 thousand marked points on one site, so border violators immediately understand that the owner is in place.

Secondly, hyenas perform elaborate greeting ceremonies. During such a ritual, in brown and striped species, the hair on the back stands on end, the animals sniff each other's head, body and anal sac. Then there is a ritual fight, during which the dominant individual often bites, holds and shakes the neck and throat of the animal that occupies a subordinate position. In spotted hyenas, the ceremony involves mutual sniffing and licking of the genital area.

What sounds do hyenas make?

Hyenas hoot, shrill screams and strange giggling sounds. Signals perceived by a person as hooting are transmitted over several kilometers. With the help of them, hyenas communicate over a long distance. Animals repeat such signals several times, which helps to establish their location, and the signal of each individual has individual characteristics.

Some of the acoustic signals emitted by hyenas can only be heard by a person with the help of an amplifier and headphones.

Procreation and raising offspring

There is no specific breeding season for hyenas. Females do not mate with related males, which avoids degeneration. Numerous males roam the deserts and savannahs alone. Having met the female during her short estrus, the male fertilizes her, and she returns to her family. Pregnancy lasts approximately 90 days, after which 1 to 5 babies are born.

Unlike others predatory mammals, in spotted hyenas, cubs are born sighted and with teeth already erupted. Babies of the same litter are involved in aggressive interactions almost from birth, as a result, a clear hierarchy quickly develops between them, and this allows the dominant cub to control access to mother's milk. Sometimes aggression leads to the death of his weaker counterpart.

Hyenas of all kinds keep their cubs in shelters, which are a system of underground burrows. Here, young individuals can stay up to 18 months. Females of the same clan usually keep their young in a large common burrow.

Different types of hyenas raise their children in different ways. Spotted ones begin to feed them with meat only from the age of nine months, when the younger generation is already able to accompany their mother on the hunt. Up to this point, they are completely dependent on mother's milk.

Brown hyenas also feed their offspring with milk for more than a year, but from the age of three months the diet of the cubs is supplemented with food brought to the shelter by parents and other members of the clan.

Pictured is a spotted hyena with a cub.

All members of the family union take part in the upbringing of the younger generation.

hyena and man

There are no endangered species among hyenas, however, several populations are threatened. And the fault of everything is persecution by a person caused by prejudice and negative attitude to these animals. In North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, striped hyenas are considered grave defilers. The disgust of people towards them reaches such an extent that they are poisoned with poisons and caught in traps.

The fact that hyenas eat carrion also pushes people away from them. However, do not forget that brown and striped hyenas are actually a natural waste processing system.

The fate of brown hyenas is not as sad as striped hyenas, because in the southern part of their African habitat, farmers are gradually changing their attitude towards them. This species is also protected in a number of reserves and national parks.

The spotted hyena often comes into conflict with the local population, as it attacks livestock. The status of this species is defined by the IUCN as " low level threats: needs to be guarded”. However, this species is fairly common in many large national parks and other protected areas in East and South Africa.

The status of other species is “Low Threat: Not of Concern”.

In contact with

area: spotted hyena found in most of the African continent south of the Sahara: in southern and eastern Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to approximately 17 ° N. sh., displacing in those places where it is often found, the striped hyena. Quite numerous and common in Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti (Tanzania); Masai Mara (Kenya); in Botswana; Kruger (South Africa); Etosha (Namibia).

Description: The spotted hyena has a dog-like head, its muzzle is powerful and wide. The ears are rounded in contrast to those of the brown hyena, which are pointed. The fur is shorter than other hyena species. The coat becomes thinner with age. The tail is shaggy, and the long coarse hair on the neck and along the back forms a mane.
Hyenas have extremely strong jaws relative to their body size. It is believed that the hyena has the strongest jaws of all mammals - when bitten on the premolars, the pressure reaches 50 kilograms per square centimeter (according to other sources, three tons, which is doubtful).
The back is sloping, the back is noticeably lower than the front, which is why the spotted hyena does not move very gracefully, but is capable of speeds up to 65 km / h.
The limbs are four-fingered, with non-retractable claws; while running and walking, the hyena steps on its toes.
The females have a fat-filled pseudoscrotum, the clitoris is erectile and is the same size and almost the same shape as the penis of the male, so the female genitals look very similar to those of the male, resulting in erroneous beliefs that hyenas are hermaphrodites. However, males can be distinguished from females by their appearance. Nursing females have one pair of well-visible nipples between the hind limbs, and the female's pseudoscrotum is less lobulated than the male's. The erectile clitoris of females has no neck and its tip is blunt, while the penis of males has a narrow neck and a sharp pointed tip. Sexual dimorphism is also very noticeable in size: the female is much larger than the male.

Color: The coat color of the spotted hyena is subject to variations, it is lighter and darker, usually brownish-yellow with dark (dark brown or black) rounded spots all over the body, except for the head, neck and lower legs. The head is brown, the muzzle is black, on the cheeks and the back of the head with a reddish tint. Tail with brown rings and black tip; the ends of the legs are whitish.

The spotted hyena makes a range of sounds - at least eleven of them have been recorded.
The most characteristic request is the drawl "whooo-oop", which is a versatile contact signal. This howl of the spotted hyena is very similar to a kind of laughter.
Around the carcasses of dead animals, in fights and when attacking lions, spotted hyenas scream, giggle, laugh, bass and growl. Babies whine for food or milk. Moans and soft squeals are often exchanged between hyenas during the greeting. The desire to establish contact is expressed by a high "o-o-o".
It has been observed that most of the calls made by males are usually ignored by other members of the clan. When a female emits sound signals, her clan members and offspring (her close relatives) react immediately.
A low grunting sound and a very low, closed-mouthed growl indicate aggressive behavior. A high-pitched giggling or cackling laugh is typically emitted by a hyena being chased; they express intense apprehension or excitement.
A deep growl, a loud purr (often with vibration) is a defensive threat made by a hyena under attack or the threat of a bite. A loud low growl serves as a signal by which the hyena warns of the approach of a lion.

Size: The spotted hyena is the largest carrion mammal. In length, her body is 95-166 cm, tail - 26-36 cm, height at the withers - 80 cm.

Weight: From 59 to 82 kg. The average weight of males is approximately 60 kg, females - 70 kg.

Lifespan: In nature, about 20-25 years, in captivity up to 40 years.

Habitat: The spotted hyena inhabits a wide range of natural habitats. The most well-spotted hyena is adapted to life in African savannah, meeting up to an altitude of 4000 m above sea level. Avoids dense rainforest and true desert.

Food: 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 effective of the scavengers due to its specific digestive system and active, very acidic gastric juice.
For the well-being of the hyena, the abundance of ungulates is important, the corpses of which form the basis of its nutrition. The spotted hyena uses the carcasses of large vertebrates more efficiently than other carnivores, which waste up to 40% of their prey weight. The hyena is able to absorb nutrients from bone tissue, skins and even faeces 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.

Behavior: The spotted hyena is a typical corpse-eater - carrion is its main food. However, often hyenas themselves attack antelopes and other animals. The reputation of the hyena as a cowardly scavenger, living off the remains of the prey of lions and other predators, is firmly rooted, but when studies were carried out, it turned out that spotted hyenas are excellent hunters, in some cases even surpassing lions.
The hyena is 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 short distance running is about 60 km/h.
It was believed that the dominance of females in clans was associated with the protection of cubs from predation by males, however, attacks by males on pups were not observed. In fact, the high aggressiveness and dominance of females is due to the high content of the androgen hormone in the blood, which promotes and guarantees food for both lactating females and their offspring. This makes a lot of evolutionary sense because more aggressive females could compete for food and could be more successful in raising young due to their food supply.
During active hunting, at a speed of about 60 km / h, hyenas overtake prey and gnaw through the main blood vessels. The size of the hunting group depends on the type of prey: usually springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) individual hyenas hunt, wildebeest in groups of up to three individuals, eland (Tragelaphus oryx)- in groups of four.
Thanks to their sensitive sense of smell, they are able to detect carrion from the leeward side at a distance of up to 4.2 km. Live prey is detected by sight and hearing. The sounds made by other predators attract hyenas from a distance of up to 10 km. Usually, lions cannot be pushed back from the carcass if there are at least four individuals in their group or an adult male lion is present at the meal.
The spotted hyena is active at night, and during the day it hides in various shelters: pits, caves, dense thickets of grasses and shrubs. Often her behavior combines caution and even cowardice with audacity and aggressiveness. Hungry hyenas are dangerous even for large animals (including old lions), especially since they have great strength and ferocity, combined with fast running. In some regions of Africa, there are known cases of hyenas entering villages and attacking children, as well as lonely travelers, sleeping or weakened people. Sometimes, under the influence of hunger, the hyena attacks small livestock, and its strength is so significant that it carries away the corpse of a person at a gallop.
Going hunting, hyenas make a variety of sounds that terrify people, like wild laughter turning into a howl.

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Hyenas, or Hyenas, are a family of carnivorous mammals of the feline suborder. Characteristic features members of the family are a short, thick head with a short, thick or pointed muzzle; their hind legs are shorter than the front ones, so the back is sloping, from the shoulder region to the sacrum. The limbs are four-fingered, with non-retractable claws; step on toes. The tail is shaggy: long, coarse hair forms a mane on the neck and along the back.

Where does the hyena live?

  • Hyena habitat depends on the type. For example, earth wolf lives in East, Northeast and West Africa, except for Tanzania and Zambia. Predators settle in open sandy plains or in thickets of bushes, where they go hunting at dusk.
  • Brown hyenas live also in Africa, in the Zambezi along the coast of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean, in Tanzania, in Zimbabwe, in Namibia, Somalia, in Botswana. They settle in desert or semi-desert places, in savannahs, in coastal places, in forests, going hunting at dusk.
  • Striped hyenas meet in North Africa, in Turkey, in Pakistan, in Uzbekistan, in Armenia, in Azerbaijan, in India, in the south of the Sahara, in the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. At night they go hunting, and during the day they live in burrows, crevices and caves.
  • Spotted hyenas live in South and East Africa, in Kenya, Sudan, Namibia, Somalia, Tanzania, Botswana, they settle in the savannas on the hills.

Description

These are large-sized animals: body length varies from 50 cm in a small earthen wolf to 1.5 m in a spotted hyena, weight, respectively, from 10 to 80 kg. All hyenas are characterized by a large head with a wide mouth and powerful jaws. The limbs of hyenas are of different lengths: the hind legs are much shorter than the front ones, which makes it seem as if the hyena crouches all the time. Strong paws are armed with blunt claws. The tail is short, shaggy. The coat of all hyenas is coarse and long, and only the spotted hyena is short.

painted different types differently: the spotted hyena is gray with brown spots, striped hyena light gray color with a dark muzzle and black transverse stripes on the body, brown hyena and an earthen wolf of uniform brown color. A unique feature of hyenas is that females have pseudo-male genitals. Outwardly, animals of different sexes can only be distinguished by size - female hyenas are larger than males. This is where the old belief that hyenas are hermaphrodites comes from. An unpleasant addition is a specific smell, which in these animals is quite strong.

The spotted, brown hyena and the earthen wolf live in Africa, and the striped hyena, in addition to the African continent, is found in Asia Minor, Central and South Asia. All types of hyenas prefer to settle in open landscapes - savannahs, steppes and semi-deserts. The brown hyena is found mainly on the coasts of the continent.

Types of hyenas

Below is short description varieties of hyenas.

Striped hyena (lat. Hyaena hyaena)

A rather large animal with a body length of 0.9 to 1.2-1.5 meters and a height at the withers up to 0.8 m. The tail is about 30 cm long. Males are much larger than females, therefore, depending on gender, the hyena weighs from 27 to 54 (sometimes 60) kg. Thanks to a special mane of coarse hair, the length of which sometimes reaches 30 cm, the height of the scapular region becomes more pronounced. The coat is about 7 cm long, dirty gray or brown-yellow in color with black or brown stripes running across the body. The characteristic structure of the paws of the striped hyena becomes especially noticeable while walking, which makes it seem that the animal is dragging the back of the body. The fingers on the front and hind limbs are tightly connected. The head of the striped hyena is large, with a slightly elongated muzzle and wide pointed ears of large size. 34 teeth, which are located in wide jaws, driven by powerful muscles, allow you to tear meat and bones into pieces.

The striped hyena lives in clay deserts or rocky foothills. It comes out in search of prey at night and twilight hours, and during the day it sits in crevices, abandoned burrows or caves. Striped hyenas are the only members of the family that can live in areas that are not on the African continent. The habitat of this species includes the countries of North Africa, as well as spaces located south of the Sahara. These animals are found in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, India and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula.

Brown hyena (lat. Hyaena brunnea)

This species differs from the striped hyena in its more modest size. The body length of these animals rarely exceeds 1.1 - 1.25 m (according to some sources, the maximum length reaches 1.6 m). The height at the withers is 70–88 cm. The sizes of males and females are practically the same, although the weight of males is slightly larger and can exceed 48 kg, while the body weight of females barely reaches 40 kg. A light mane up to 30 cm long, hanging from the neck along the entire spine of these hyenas, looks in contrast to the shaggy, monophonic, brown-brown coat, which is slightly longer than that of the striped relatives. A characteristic feature of this species is the gray color of the head and legs, with horizontal whitish stripes clearly visible on the legs.

The neck and shoulders are painted white. The size of the skull of brown hyenas is larger than the skull of striped hyenas, and the teeth are more durable. Below the base of the tail in these animals is the anal gland, which produces secretions of black and white. With its help, the animal marks the boundaries of its territory. Brown hyenas live in desert and semi-desert areas, are found in savannahs and forests, but most of the populations are tied to coastal areas. The habitat of the brown hyena includes Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique, Tanzania and Somalia, as well as other African countries located south of the Zambezi River along the coast of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. These animals come out in search of food after dark.

Spotted hyena (lat. Crocuta crocuta)

Wild animal of the genus Crocuta. Spotted hyenas are the most typical representatives of the entire family. This is expressed in the characteristic structure of the body of the animal and its habits. The body length with a tail can reach 1.6 m (according to some sources, 1.85 m), the height at the withers is up to 80 cm. The weight of female hyenas ranges from 44.5 kg to 82 kg, males are much lighter and weigh from 40 kg to 62 kg. Yellowish-gray or sandy coat, decorated with rounded dark brown or black spots on the sides, back and limbs, shorter than that of relatives.

Depending on the habitat, the color of the body can change from lighter to darker tones. The coat on the head is brown, with a reddish tinge on the cheeks and nape. On pretty short tail with a dark tip, brown rings are clearly visible. On the front and hind limbs of a mammal there may be light "socks". Unlike representatives of other species, spotted hyenas have shorter ears and their tips are rounded. These hyenas have the largest "repertoire" of vocal communication, allowing them to express various emotions. Spotted hyenas live in the savannas and on the elevated plateaus of Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana and other countries of South or East Africa. Spotted hyenas are most active at night, although they can prowl in search of prey during the day. The social organization of clans in spotted hyenas is based on the dominance of females, so even high-ranking males are subordinate to low-ranking females.

Earthwolf (lat. Proteles cristatus)

The smallest species of the hyena family. Unlike spotted and striped hyenas, earthwolves have a more delicate physique. The body length of these animals reaches 55-100 cm with a height at the withers of up to 50 cm, and the weight of individuals is 8-14 kg. Like all hyenas, the hind limbs of the earthen wolves are shorter than the front ones, but the slope of the back is not so pronounced. The head of these animals is slightly elongated and resembles a dog in appearance. On the coat, which is colored yellowish-gray or reddish, black transverse stripes. The same stripes are visible on the legs of the animal. A long hanging mane, running along the entire ridge, at the moment of danger takes a vertical position and visually increases the size of this small predator. The jaws of earthwolves are much weaker than those of other species, which is due to the diet of the wolf, which feeds on termites and other insects and their larvae, such as dead beetles. In these representatives of the hyenas, the only ones from the whole family, the forelimbs have five fingers.

Earthwolves live in most countries of the Eastern, Northeastern and South Africa, absent only in the tropical forests of Tanzania and Zambia, which makes the distribution area of ​​\u200b\u200bthis species broken. These predators prefer to settle in places where there are open sandy plains and thickets of bushes. In search of food, they go at twilight and night hours, and during the day they sit out in abandoned porcupine burrows, although they are able to dig their own shelters.

Pachycrocuta brevirostris

This is an extinct species of hyena. Judging by the fossil bones found in Eurasia, eastern and southern Africa, these hyenas were real giants. The average weight of the predator was about 110 kg, and the size of the animal can be compared with the size of a modern lioness. Perhaps the representatives of the species were scavengers, since with such impressive dimensions to develop high speed hunting was not easy.

Lifestyle

Not all representatives of this family live in packs: the striped hyena and the earthen wolf prefer loneliness. But the spotted and brown hyenas form flocks of five individuals or more, while the flock of spotted hyenas is sometimes huge and consists of a hundred individuals. There is a clear hierarchy among these animals - all lower individuals are completely subordinate to the higher ones (the position is determined primarily by the rank of the mother of small hyenas at their birth and it is extremely difficult to change it afterwards). Males always occupy a lower position, and the most experienced female is at the head.

Behavioral Features

There is a misconception that this mammal is a dangerous animal. This opinion is based on the fact that they kill the innocent, and also eat carrion. In fact, there are much more dangerous creatures in nature, and thanks to the ability of a person to tame and train, even domestic hyenas are found. At the same time, they are in home environment become best friend. If an animal goes to a meeting and begins to trust a person, then in terms of devotion it will not yield to an ordinary dog ​​in any way.

Nature endowed the nimble predator with amazing abilities at first glance. For example, they are able to make peculiar sounds. With a diabolical laugh, the hyena notifies its family of the find. a large number food. But animals like lions have learned to recognize these urges. Often lions take food from hyenas. A flock of predators is not able to fight such a serious opponent and retreats. And they have no choice but to eat up the leftovers or look for a new place for lunch.

In addition, nature endowed the ends of the paws of the animal with glands. According to the specific smell of the produced secretion, the "hunters" learned to identify the individuals of their flock. That allows them to identify and scare away the stranger.

The hyena is not a terrible animal. In fact, they perform very important role eating carrion - perform the function of orderlies. At the same time, by hunting other animals, they ensure the equality of the animal world.

Voice

The language of hyenas is very diverse and they communicate with each other using sounds - first of all, it is a world-famous cry, which is the laughter of hyenas, which gives the impression that the animal laughs extremely unpleasantly. In fact, these sounds are a mixture of howling, screaming, roaring and something like laughter. Thus, these animals control the order of eating: the main female informs the whole world that she has finished eating, and therefore the next individual in the hierarchy can start eating - this helps pugnacious, warlike and dangerous animals maintain established relationships in the pack, and also avoid fights and conflicts.

Such a laugh is inherent only to the spotted hyena, but the brown hyena and the striped hyena do not make such a sound at all. They produce growls, screams, grunts and a rough, hoarse howl.

The behavior of hyenas in a pack

Matriarchy reigns in a pack of predators, a hierarchy is built according to the following principles:

  • Older females are the most important. They are given the greatest privileges: to rest in the coolest place in the hole, to be the first to taste dinner. In turn, they bring and grow the largest offspring.
  • females low class. They follow the elders, that is, they start eating in the second turn, rest at a distance from the elders.
  • Males. They belong to the lowest class.

What do hyenas eat?

Brown and striped hyenas usually hunt alone and are primarily scavengers, occasionally feeding on eggs, invertebrates, or small vertebrates. Spotted hyenas often come out in search of prey in small groups and take prey from jackals, cheetahs, and leopards. Often they themselves arrange hunting for rodents, birds, turtles, antelopes, young giraffes, zebras and even elephants. In addition, these predators are not averse to eating domestic animals (for example, sheep). Sometimes spotted hyenas attack buffaloes, and having strayed into a large flock, they are able to kill this large animal. In the hungry season, spotted hyenas can be content with carrion: the corpses of small and large animals, including marine ones, as well as food waste. In addition, the menu of all members of the family, except for earthen wolves, also includes plant foods. Hyenas willingly eat nuts and seeds of plants, as well as gourds - watermelons, melons, fruits from the pumpkin family.

Unlike other species, the earthwolf never feeds on the corpses of dead animals. The basis of its diet is termites, dead-eating beetles, insect larvae. When the opportunity arises, he catches small rodents, destroys bird nests and eats not only eggs, but also the birds themselves.

Hunting

To catch prey, nature endowed hyenas with short hind and long front legs, which allows them to develop tremendous speed and cover quite long distances without stopping.

As a hunter, the animal is much superior in skills to lions. They mainly hunt at night overcoming more than seventy kilometers. In hunting, the mammal simply exhausts its prey by running long distances. At the same time, scaring her with devilish laughter, turning into a howl. When the victim is unable to run, they bite her legs, thereby completely immobilizing her. They eat prey alive, and not like other hunters pre-suffocate.

Their hearing, sense of smell and vision are at the highest level. For example, they smell carrion at a distance of more than four kilometers.

Reproduction and offspring

A female spotted hyena can produce offspring at any time of the year; there is no specific time allotted for this. The female genitalia look frankly unconventional. They got such a structure at the expense of too high level testosterone in the blood. The vulva merges into large folds and looks like the scrotum and testicles. The clitoris is too large and resembles a phallus. The vagina passes through this pseudo-penis. For mating, the female may invert the clitoris so that the male can insert his penis.

The male takes the initiative to mate. By smell, he understands when the female is ready to mate. The male delicately lowers his head in front of his "lady" as a sign of respect and proceeds to decisive action only after her approval. Often, females mate with males who are not members of their clan. It has been observed that hyenas can have sex for pleasure. Also involved in homosexual activity, especially females with other females.

The gestation period for the spotted hyena is 4 months.. The young are born in the brood burrow fully developed, with open eyes and fully formed teeth. Babies weigh from 1 to 1.5 kg. They are quite active from the very beginning. Childbirth is an extremely difficult process for the spotted hyena, this is due to the structure of its genitals. Hard-to-heal tears can occur on the genitals, which significantly delays the recovery process. Often childbirth ends with the death of the mother or calf.

Each female breastfeeds her babies for 6-12 months before weaning (full weaning may take another 2-6 months). Presumably, such long feeding may be possible due to the high content of bone products in the diet. The milk of the spotted hyena is extremely rich. nutrients necessary for the development of babies. It has the largest amount of protein in the world, and in terms of fat content, it is second only to polar bear milk. Due to such a high fat content, the female can leave the burrow for hunting for 5-7 days without worrying about the condition of the babies. Little hyenas are considered adults only in the second year of life.

natural enemies

Spotted hyenas feud with lions. This is their almost only and constant enemy. Of the total share of deaths of spotted hyenas, 50% die from the fangs of a lion. Often it is about protecting your own borders, sharing food and water. So it happened in nature. Spotted hyenas will kill lions and lions will kill spotted hyenas. During the dry season, drought or famine, lions and hyenas are always at war with each other for territory.

This is interesting! The fight between hyenas and lions is tough. It often happens that hyenas attack defenseless cubs or old individuals, for which they are attacked in return.

In the struggle for food and supremacy, the victory goes to the group of animals whose numbers prevail. Also, spotted hyenas, like any other animal, can be exterminated by humans.

Population and species status

In South Africa, Sierra Leone, Round, Nigeria, Mauritania, Mali, Cameroon, Burundi, their numbers are on the verge of extinction. In some countries, their population is declining due to hunting and poaching.

Important! Spotted hyenas are listed in the Red Book.

In Botswana, the population of these animals is under state control. Their burrows are remote from human settlements; in the region, the spotted hyena acts as game. Low risk of extinction in Malawi, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

Hyena and jackal - differences

Hyenas, like jackals, are representatives of the order of predatory mammals, but there are quite a few differences between them:

  • Hyenas are much larger than jackals: on average, their body length is from 0.8 m to 1.6 m, and the weight of adult animals is from 14 kg to 80 kg or more. The body of a jackal reaches no more than 0.6-0.85 m in length, and the animal weighs only 8 to 10 kg.
  • Jackals belong to the canine family (lat. Canidae), while hyenas belong to the hyena family (lat. Hyaenidae). In appearance and lifestyle, jackals occupy a middle position between foxes and wolves. The muzzles of these animals are sharper than the wolf, but not sharp enough compared to the fox. Hyenas, unlike jackals, are more similar to cats in the structure of the skull.
  • Unlike the hyena, the hind and front legs of the jackal are the same length, so when viewed from the side, its back does not appear to be sloping.
  • The gestation period for jackals lasts only 2 months, and for hyenas it takes from 3 to 3.5 months. Female jackals are more prolific, in one litter there can be from 4 to 7, and sometimes 8 cubs. There are usually no more than 3-4 puppies in a hyena litter, although spotted hyena litter can sometimes have up to 7 newborns.
  • IN vivo jackals at the age of 8-10 years are considered centenarians, in captivity they can live up to 12-14 years, sometimes even up to 16 years. Hyenas live in nature for no more than 12-15 years, and in zoos - up to 24 years of age.
  • Hyenas rarely get rabies, jackals are more susceptible to this virus.

  • Since ancient times, a person has retained a biased attitude towards the hyena. The imagination of people has always been disturbed by the sloppy appearance and unpleasant smell emanating from this beast, its eating habits, behavior and, of course, the laughter of a hyena, similar to a human. All this gave rise to myths and various legends about this animal, which were passed down from generation to generation and gradually turned into facts. Only at the end of the 20th century (1984), a center for the study of the hyena family was opened in California at the University of Berkeley. Today, 40 spotted hyenas are kept here.
  • The ancient Greeks believed that these animals are hermaphrodites, that is, a female can easily turn into a male and vice versa. Only after studying hyenas, modern scientists found out that among hyenas there are both females and males, but the external genitalia of males and females are outwardly very similar. The clitoris in female spotted hyenas is quite large and reaches a length of 15 cm, and the saccular fold formed by the labia resembles the scrotum in appearance. Such unusual structure of the external genital organs of females is associated with increased levels of testosterone (male hormone) in the body of pregnant hyenas. Embryos developing in the womb seem to “bath” in this hormone. Subsequently, this also affects the character of the females.
  • It is believed that hyenas are very cowardly, but, contrary to this opinion, they are able to take prey from a lone lion or lioness. Sometimes old sick lions themselves can become victims of hyenas.
  • Representatives of the hyena family in the folklore of many peoples have become the personification of betrayal, deceit, meanness, gluttony and greed. In the legends of the peoples of Africa, these animals are able not only to laugh like a person, but also to imitate his speech, inviting passers-by into the darkness, hypnotize them with their eyes, and then kill them. Fortunately, there is no scientific confirmation of the attack of hyenas on humans. But if the animal is driven into a trap, it can bite off the fingers of the hunter.
  • Most often, when in trouble, the hyena does not resist. Pretending to be dead, she waits for the danger to disappear, and then "comes to life".
  • In East Africa, there are peoples who revere this animal. The Tawbs believe that hyenas are the animals of the Sun that brought the luminary to the Earth to warm it. The Vaniki people consider the hyena their ancestor and mourn its loss more than the loss of their leader.

In the past, people were able to different parts hyenas (skin, liver, brain, other organs) to prepare healing potions, supposedly healing from various ailments. For example, eye diseases were treated with her liver. The skin had magical properties”, people believed that with its help it was possible to protect crops in the fields and their homes from hail.

Video

Sources

    https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyenas https://nashzeleniymir.ru/hyena#giena-i-shakal-otlichiya.

In our article, we want to talk about the most unusual and mysterious predator, around which there are always many secrets. The spotted hyena is the most ferocious animal in Africa, it belongs to the hyena family and is a unique creature of its kind. Of the entire group of hyenas, it is the spotted variety that boasts the most powerful jaw among mammalian predators.

Mysterious Creatures

It's no secret that no other animal causes such hostility in people as the hyena. Appearance and demeanor - all this does not cause positive emotions. An interesting fact is that for a long time these animals were considered almost the most mysterious because of their little study. The banal ignorance of many facts from the lifestyle of hyenas has led people to believe in the most incredible rumors about these creatures, based on fear.

So, for example, the inhabitants of the African continent were frightened by the persistence with which hyenas sometimes tear apart graves. Therefore, they believed that animals are associated with the other world and evil spirits. But the Arabs also did not favor hyenas. When killing them, they tried to bury their heads as deep as possible so that the creatures could not return and take revenge.

The mystical horror of these animals led many people to believe that drugs prepared from the organs of hyenas have incredible power.

Description of the spotted hyena

Hyenas belong to the cat-like suborder. Once they were considered relatives of dogs, but recently scientists nevertheless came to the conclusion that this classification is not true. Therefore, at present, hyenas are attached to the cat family. And yet, outwardly, the spotted hyena is very reminiscent of a dog. The animal has a fairly large size, the length of the body with the tail reaches 190 centimeters. The largest individuals weigh up to 80 kilograms. The predator has a very muscular and powerful body, with a significantly expanded thoracic region. Hyenas have slightly curved hind limbs, which are shorter than the front ones, which is why their backs are sloping. The front paws have five toes, while the hind paws have only four. Under the fingers are convex pads, which are the main emphasis when running and walking.

Hyenas are characterized by a thick and massive head, as well as a short and wide neck. The powerful jaws of a ferocious predator give them the ability to crush the largest bones of the victim.

The body of the animal is covered with coarse shaggy brown or yellowish-gray hair. Hyenas have almost no undercoat. On the back along the ridge, the hairline is elongated, which is why it looks like a mane.

The color of the animal's fur is heterogeneous. The spotted hyena has slightly blurred spots all over its body and on its paws. The tail of the animal is shaggy and short.

animal voice

The spotted hyena, like other members of this family, makes many sounds. Their language is so diverse that they can perfectly communicate with relatives. Probably, every reader knows that these animals emit a cry that is characteristic only for them, which is more like an unpleasant laugh. It is because of him that people have long disliked hyenas. In fact, it is a mixture of roar, scream, howl and the likeness of a terrible laugh. As a result, we hear this sound later as an unpleasant laugh.

With their voice, animals control the order of the meal. The main female of the flock reports that she has already eaten, and representatives of the next hierarchy can start eating. It's no secret that spotted hyenas (photos are given in the article) are incredibly warlike and pugnacious creatures. But thanks to the sound commands of the main female, the whole family remains calm.

In total, hyenas make 11 sounds. They chat with each other with laughter. And during a fight for prey, they growl, “giggle” and howl. But squeals and groans are a sign of welcome.

A flock of animals quickly responds to the sound signals of only females, and does not respond at all to the cries of males or responds with a delay. Grunting sounds and low growl are a manifestation of predator aggression. But the hyena “laughs” in case of danger. Before attacking the victim, the animal growls loudly and menacingly. Hyenas are afraid of lions, and therefore they warn their brothers with a growl about the approach of the enemy. In general, in the arsenal of predators there are sounds for all occasions.

pack hierarchy

A herd of spotted hyenas (photos are given in the article) is characterized by a clear hierarchy. Their clans live in a matriarchy. Females dominate males and occupy a higher position in society. In addition, the pack also has additional divisions into levels. Adults are the main ones. They have the privilege of being the first to eat and rest at the very entrance to the lair. They are faced with the task of raising large offspring.

Females at a lower level of the hierarchy do not have such greater privileges. As for the males, they occupy the lowest place in the pack, but there is also a division between them. All males express incredible obedience to the opposite sex. For breeding, males often join other people's flocks.

An interesting fact is that between the clans of African spotted hyenas there are constant wars for habitat. Predators constantly patrol the borders of their possessions, marked by their feces. A flock can number from ten to 100 individuals.

Habitat

The habitat of the spotted hyena is quite wide. Animals are found in the semi-desert, desert and foothill regions of Africa, as well as in the savannas. But striped hyenas also live in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran and India.

The habitat of spotted individuals extends from the Sahara to the Cape of Good Hope. Predators live in Kenya, Botswana, Congo, Namibia, in the Ngorongoro crater. IN eastern regions In Sudan and Ethiopia, hyenas are found even at an altitude of more than 4000 above sea level.

A dangerous predator - the spotted hyena - prefers the savannas for a reason, because they are always full of all kinds of animals that are included in the animal's diet. But in dense tropical forests, predators feel uncomfortable.

What do predators eat?

The main diet for predators is meat. For a long time people believed that hyenas pick up only carrion, taking prey from other predators. But recent studies have shown that 90% of all food animals get on their own while hunting.

Hyenas are not particularly picky about their diet, so they do not disdain any meat that comes their way. They do not care what to eat: it can be a rotten elephant carcass or a live antelope. Of course, ungulates make up the bulk of their diet. Since predators lead a pack lifestyle, they all hunt together. So it’s easier for them to cope with the victim, although alone a hyena can also catch a small gazelle or antelope.

Spotted hyena lifestyle

The head of the community, the alpha female, leads her pack to hunt. Having found a suitable victim, the hyenas simply drive it and try to knock it down. As soon as the prey falls, they immediately begin to eat it. It is hard to imagine, but the powerful jaws of the animal cope with the tibia of a bull.

Alone, a hyena can kill an antelope that is three times its own size. And the herd is capable of slaughtering a buffalo or a baby elephant.

Hyenas are called the main scavengers for a reason. Their stomachs digest any food they eat, even hooves and horns. The main enemy for the predator is the lion. It is he who takes their prey from them. An adult lion can easily disperse a whole flock and appropriate all the meat.

How do individuals reproduce?

The first experts who studied hyenas mistakenly considered them to be hermaphrodites. Such conclusions were based on the fact that animals have a unique structure of the reproductive system. This is what led to such a deep delusion. Female spotted hyenas and males have incredibly similar sex organs. In the first few years of their life, it is generally impossible to determine the sex. And only in the sixties of the twentieth century, scientists proved that predators have a certain gender, like all mammals.

Hyenas do not have a specific mating season; they can mate at any time of the year. Very often the breeding season coincides with the start of the rains.

The breeding process of the spotted hyena has its own characteristics. It is the males who begin their courtship first. They smell when the females are ready to mate. If the female is supportive, then the male bows his head low, thus expressing humility. He must be approved, otherwise the female may choose a representative of another tribe. This happens quite often.

The appearance of babies

Pregnancy lasts about four months. Offspring are born in a hole. As a rule, no more than three babies are born. Cubs are born with a well-developed jaw, they see and hear. Their weight is from 1 to 1.6 kilograms. If a female has two girls in one litter, then a fierce struggle immediately begins between them. Three months later, the babies already weigh 14 kilograms. The reason for this rapid growth is the incredibly fatty milk of hyenas. Females can go hunting for seven days and at the same time do not worry at all that their children will be hungry. At the age of three months, the young are already eating meat. Hyenas become adults by the age of two.

In conditions wildlife predators live 20-25 years, and in captivity - up to 40 years.

Hyena enemies

Despite the fact that hyenas themselves are serious predators, in the wild they have enemies. These are lions and leopards, which often attack them in search of food. With a flock of hyenas predators can not cope. But they are capable of killing a pregnant female and young animals.

Some hyenas die from their relatives. The reason for this is gregariousness, which leads to war between certain groups.

At one time, a prejudiced attitude towards these animals led to the fact that they were massively destroyed. This caused a decrease in the number of spotted hyenas on earth. Currently, hyenas are under the protection of almost all states in whose territory they live.

Are hyenas helpful?

Despite the general hostile attitude towards predators, they are still beneficial. Hyenas are the main helpers that keep the shroud ecosystem in good condition. No wonder they are also called natural "nurses". In addition, predators annually destroy up to 12% of wildebeest, preventing their populations from growing uncontrollably. As a rule, sick and old animals fall into the claws of hyenas, therefore it is believed that they clear territories of excess individuals, thus maintaining balance.

Hyenas - Enough interesting creatures, their mental level is at the level of primates, which means that they are far from stupid.

We would like to bring a few startling facts about these unusual animals:

  1. Predators greet each other just like dogs do. It was this fact that at one time served as the reason that hyenas were classified as dogs.
  2. In ancient Egypt, such predators were domesticated. They were bred for later use as food.
  3. Young hyenas are born with open eyes, unlike all other animals. Babies live in the den only up to a year, after which they begin to hunt with their mother.
  4. The female hyenas have elevated level testosterone (male hormone) compared to males. Perhaps this is the reason why matriarchy reigns in the tribe.
  5. Hyenas often steal food from other carnivores. This behavior is not liked by their neighbors.
  6. Despite the fact that the predator is not very large, the animal is a thunderstorm of the savannas. Developed jaws allow you to attack the victim, clinging to it with a stranglehold. Hyenas never kill prey, but devour it alive on the go. Their stomach is designed in such a way that it is able to digest any food, even bones and skins.
  7. The enemies of hyenas include not only leopards and lions, but also crocodiles and hunting dogs.
  8. It is believed that predators are incredibly cowardly, but this is not so. Hyenas can take prey from a lioness or a lion. And sometimes old weakened lions can be attacked by them.
  9. IN folklore In many countries, hyenas have become a real symbol of betrayal, greed, deceit and meanness. African legends endow animals with all sorts of terrible qualities. However, there is no scientific evidence that hyenas attack people. Although a hunted animal is certainly capable of biting a person. Most likely, the consciousness of people is influenced by the stereotype of an animal that has been formed over the centuries, the inexplicable behavior of which frightened a person at all times. And what we do not understand causes fear.
  10. In eastern Africa, there are tribes that revere the predator. They believe that hyenas are the messengers of the Sun, who are sent to Earth to warm it. And such a nation as the vaniki still reveres the predator more than its own leader. And the death of an animal for them is an incredible loss.

Instead of an afterword

Despite the general dislike, hyenas are ordinary, but still dangerous predators that have instilled fear in people for many centuries. However, the studies of modern scientists have made it possible to dispel the halo of mystery around this creature and show that all those extraordinary properties that people endowed them with are nothing more than fiction.

Hyenas. How many legends and superstitions are associated with these animals. In places where hyenas live, they are often put in a bad light in folklore. Once upon a time, representatives of the genus of hyenas were a very large population and were found not only in Asia and Africa, but also inhabited Europe and North America. Today, these animals occupy only a small part of their former habitat.

Hyena habitats

There are four species in the hyena family: striped hyena, spotted hyena, brown hyena and earthen wolf. Almost all living Africans.

The striped hyena is found in southwest Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. She also lives in northeast Africa, on the Arabian Peninsula, in Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, in India and in the south of Central Asia.

The spotted hyena is found only in Africa, in the territory from the southern outskirts of the Sahara to the Cape of Good Hope. In Abyssinia, the spotted hyena can be seen at an altitude of 4000 meters above sea level.

The brown hyena, a close relative of the striped hyena, lives on west coast South Africa. They lead a solitary life and often feed on dead fish, shellfish and crabs.

The earthwolf can be found on the plains of Africa south of Ethiopia - in savannahs, scrub and semi-deserts.