![]() ![]() There can be up to 100 individuals in a clan. There are some items that hyenas can’t digest, such as hair and horns, although they still eat them.Ī complex clan: The spotted hyena social system is complex. Most other predators couldn’t eat those things, even if they tried. Powerful jaws are able to crush bones with ease. Sometimes, leftovers are buried in a mud hole for a later meal. Spotted hyenas give new meaning to the phrase "lick the platter clean." They eat practically every part of their prey, including skin, hooves, bone, and teeth. Even ostrich eggs are fair game! Spotted hyenas also scavenge, but they have to compete with jackals and vultures for these leftovers.Ī hyena can eat quite a bit at one time. Ground birds, rabbits, springhare, bat-eared foxes, porcupines, jackals, and fish can be on the menu. When hunting alone, a spotted hyena may go after smaller prey. Smaller packs chase down gazelles, impalas, warthogs, and waterbucks. The hyenas work in a group when hunting such large prey, and young hyenas take years to become successful. This can include young rhinos, adult wildebeest, zebras, and Cape buffalo. The bigger the hyena clan, the larger its prey. Spotted hyenas often pick out the young or weak from the herd, but they can kill even healthy adult ungulates. They are able to chase down prey over long distances while running at up to 37 miles per hour (60 kilometers per hour). But during a hunt, the hyena's impressive hunting skills come into play. In a large group, spotted hyenas are able to chase lions away from a kill. When confronted by a lion, the spotted hyena calls for help from other hyenas. Both hyenas and lions mark and establish territories, and both species are always on guard. Lions often injure or kill hyenas as they fight over a carcass. Sometimes the hyenas do the work of organizing, chasing down, and killing prey only to have lions steal it. Lions and hyenas compete over the same food in overlapping territories. Spotted hyenas can be active both day and night, depending on their needs and whether there are humans around, but they are generally nocturnal. ![]() Hyenas use watering holes as places to cool off or to hide extra food. Rather than resting in dens, adult spotted hyenas sleep in holes or shallow pools or under bushes or scrubs-anywhere they can find shade during the heat of the day. They are able to survive in savannas and swamps, as well as semi-arid regions, and even mountainous forest areas. Staying cool: These interesting carnivores live in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Its only true predators are lions and humans. A short mane of hair along its back stands upright. ![]() Its ears are more rounded than that of the other hyenas. The short, coarse fur has a yellow or gray tint covered in spots, which differ among individuals. The spotted hyena's paws have four toes with non-retractable claws. Its front legs are longer than its back legs, giving the hyena a profile somewhat like that of a wildebeest or bison. It has a large head with a long, thick, muscular neck and powerful jaws that give the hyena the strongest bite of any mammal. The spotted hyena may look unusual, at first sight. Female spotted hyenas are a bit larger than the males, but otherwise they look exactly the same. It is the largest member of the hyena family (other members are the striped hyena, brown hyena, and aardwolf). Also called the laughing hyena, the spotted hyena is a strong, capable hunter. It may look like a dog, but the spotted hyena is more closely related to cats, civets, and genets. ![]() Dogs or cats or.? So, you think you know all about spotted hyenas-the ones known to "laugh"? They're in lots of cartoons and movies, and they're usually in the role of giggly villains. ![]()
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