Hyena
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Hyenas (or Hyænas) are moderately large terrestrial carnivores native to Africa and Asia. They are members of the family Hyaenidae.
Although hyenas look like rather large wild dogs, they make up a separate biological family which is most closely related to Herpestidae (the family of mongooses and meerkats). The hyena has one of the strongest jaws in the animal kingdom and an adult of the species has only the lion to fear.
The pelt can be light to dark-brown on Brown Hyenas, while the color can be grey, sometimes nearly white on Striped Hyenas. Aardwolves have a warm, sand-colored coat, while the coats of Spotted Hyenas can range from dark-brown fur to amber and reddish in color.
In ancient times, large hyenas ranged over much of Europe and Asia, but they are much reduced in range and diversity today. Only four species survive: the Spotted, Brown, and Striped Hyenas (which together make up the subfamily Hyaeninae), and the Aardwolf, which is the only member of the subfamily Protelinae.
Despite what is usually said, only some species belonging to this family are scavengers: while the brown and the striped hyena derive most of their diets from scavenging, the spotted hyena is not only a real predator, but also the most effective predator on the African savannah. The aardwolf usually eat insects like termites.
Hyenas are also highly intelligent predators, even more intelligent than the lions (some scientists even believe that the hyenas are nearly as intelligent as the great apes). A group of spotted hyenas (called a "clan") can include 90 members, lead by one Alpha female. The ranking system is incredibly complicated, so cubs learn to know this system even before they can walk. Females are the most powerful and dominating members of the Clan, then comes cubs, and at last males. Males are usually smaller and calmer than females, and often leave the Clan when they are about two years of age.
Hyenas are also the only mammals born with teeth, which means that sometimes when the cubs play-fight, they can accidentally kill each other. Hyenas also produce milk with so much nutrition, that unlike lions and wild dogs, they can leave their cubs for about a week without feeding them, so they can follow the herds of wildebeest. That way, they always get the best prey.
In some parts of Africa, some men were thought to turn into hyenas at night. (See lycanthropy.) In the former Kingdom of Kaffa (now part of south-western Ethiopia), qora or were-hyenas were outlawed by special laws. Those accused of turning into hyenas at night were bound then taken to a priest of Docco, who would determine if the accused were truly a qora. If found guilty, the individual would then be sentenced to slavery, death, or exile. Although only a priest of Docco could make this determination, any person could accuse another of this crime. As G.W.B. Huntingford wrote, "This led to much injustice, and according to old Kafa men the law was often set into motion."1
Classification
Family Hyaenidae
- Subfamily Hyaeninae
- Spotted Hyena Crocuta crocuta
- Brown Hyena Parahyaena brunnea (formerly Hyaena brunnea)
- Striped Hyena Hyaena hyaena
- Subfamily Protelinae
- Aardwolf Proteles cristatus
Notes
- G.W.B. Huntingford, The Galla of Ethiopia; The Kingdom of Kafa and Janjero (London: International African Institute, 1955), p. 126.
