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The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), also known as the laughing hyena,[4] is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus Crocuta, native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN on account of its widespread range and large numbers estimated between 27,000 and 47,000 individuals.[2] The species is, however, experiencing declines outside of protected areas due to habitat loss and poaching.[2] The species may have originated in Asia,[5] and once ranged throughout Europe for at least one million years until the end of the Late Pleistocene.[6]
The spotted hyena is the largest known member of the Hyaenidae, and is
further physically distinguished from other species by its vaguely bear-like build,[7] its rounded ears,[8] its less prominent mane, its spotted pelt,[9] its more dual-purposed dentition,[10] its fewer nipples[11] and the presence of a pseudo-penis in the female. It is the only placental mammalian species where females lack an external vaginal opening, having a pseudo-penis instead.[12]
The spotted hyena is the most social of the Carnivora in that it has the largest group sizes and most complex social behaviours.[13] Its social organisation is unlike that of any other carnivore, bearing closer resemblance to that of cercopithecine primates (baboons and macaques)
with respect to group size, hierarchical structure, and frequency of
social interaction among both kin and unrelated group-mates.[14]
However, the social system of the spotted hyena is openly competitive
rather than cooperative, with access to kills, mating opportunities and
the time of dispersal for males depending on the ability to dominate other clan-members.
Females provide only for their own cubs rather than assist each other,
and males display no paternal care. Spotted hyena society is matriarchal; females are larger than males, and dominate them.[15]
The spotted hyena is a highly successful animal, being the most common large carnivore in Africa. Its success is due in part to its adaptability and opportunism; it is primarily a hunter but may also scavenge,
with the capacity to eat and digest skin, bone and other animal waste.
In functional terms, the spotted hyena makes the most efficient use of
animal matter of all African carnivores.[16] The spotted hyena displays greater plasticity in its hunting and foraging behaviour than other African carnivores;[17]
it hunts alone, in small parties of 2–5 individuals or in large groups.
During a hunt, spotted hyenas often run through ungulate herds in order
to select an individual to attack. Once selected, their prey is chased
over a long distance, often several kilometres, at speeds of up to
60 km/h.[18]
The spotted hyena has a long history of interaction with humanity; depictions of the species exist from the Upper Paleolithic period, with carvings and paintings from the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves.[19] The species has a largely negative reputation in both Western culture and African folklore.
In the former, the species is mostly regarded as ugly and cowardly,
while in the latter, it is viewed as greedy, gluttonous, stupid, and
foolish, yet powerful and potentially dangerous. The majority of Western
perceptions on the species can be found in the writings of Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, though in relatively unjudgmental form. Explicit, negative judgments occur in the Physiologus, where the animal is depicted as a hermaphrodite and grave-robber.[20]
The IUCN's hyena specialist group identifies the spotted hyena's
negative reputation as detrimental to the species' continued survival,
both in captivity and the wild.[20][21]
Etymology and naming
The spotted hyena's scientific name Crocuta, was once widely thought to be derived from the Latin loanword crocutus,
which translates as 'saffron-coloured one', in reference to the
animal's fur colour. This was proven to be incorrect, as the correct
spelling of the loanword would have been Crocāta, and the word was never used in that sense by Graeco-Roman sources. Crocuta actually comes from the Ancient Greek word Κροκόττας (krokottas), which is derived from the Sanskrit koṭṭhâraka, which in turn originates from kroshṭuka (both of which were originally meant to signify the golden jackal). The earliest recorded mention of Κροκόττας is from Strabo's Geographica, where the animal is described as a mix of wolf and dog native to Ethiopia.[22]
Engraving of a spotted hyena from
Thomas Pennant's
History of Quadrupeds, one of the first authentic depictions of the species
[23]From Classical antiquity until the Renaissance, the spotted and striped hyena were either assumed to be the same species, or distinguished purely on geographical, rather than physical grounds. Hiob Ludolf, in his Historia aethiopica, was the first to clearly distinguish the Crocuta from Hyaena
on account of physical, as well as geographical grounds, though he
never had any first hand experience of the species, having gotten his
accounts from an Ethiopian intermediary.[4]
Confusion still persisted over the exact taxonomic nature of the hyena
family in general, with most European travelers in Ethiopia referring to
hyenas as "wolves". This partly stems from the Amharic word for hyena, ጅብ (jɨbb), which is linked to the Arabic word ذئب (dhiʾb) 'wolf'.[24]
The first detailed first-hand descriptions of the spotted hyena by Europeans come from Willem Bosman and Peter Kolbe. Bosman, a Dutch tradesman who worked for the Dutch West India Company at the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana) from 1688 to 1701, wrote of Jakhals, of Boshond (jackals or woodland dogs) whose physical descriptions match the spotted hyena. Kolben, a German mathematician and astronomer who worked for the Dutch East India Company in the Cape of Good Hope
from 1705 to 1713, described the spotted hyena in great detail, but
referred to it as a "tigerwolf", because the settlers in southern Africa
did not know of hyenas, and thus labelled them as "wolves".[25]
Bosman and Kolben's descriptions went largely unnoticed until 1771, when the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant, in his Synopsis of Quadrupeds,
used the descriptions, as well as his personal experience with a
captive specimen, as a basis for consistently differentiating the
spotted hyena from the striped. The description given by Pennant was
precise enough to be included by Johann Erxleben in his Systema regni animalis by simply translating Pennant's text into Latin. Crocuta was finally recognised as a separate genus from Hyaena in 1828.[26]
Taxonomy, origins and evolution
Pair of spotted hyenas at
White River, Mpumalanga.
Note the great degree of individual variation in fur colour, which was
once used as a basis for separating the species into various subspecies.
Unlike the striped hyena, for which a number of subspecies were
proposed in light of its extensive modern range, the spotted hyena is a
genuinely variable species, both temporally and spatially. Its range
once encompassed almost all of Africa and Eurasia,
and displayed a large degree of morphological geographic variation,
which led to an equally extensive set of specific and subspecific
epithets. It was gradually realised that all of this variation could be
applied to individual differences in a single subspecies. In 1939,
biologist L Harrison Matthews
demonstrated through comparisons between a large selection of spotted
hyena skulls from Tanzania that all the variation seen in the then
recognised subspecies could also be found in a single population, with
the only set of characters standing out being pelage (which is subject
to a high degree of individual variation) and size (which is subject to Bergmann's Rule).
When fossils are taken into consideration, the species displayed even
greater variation than it does in modern times, and a number of these
named fossil species have since been classed as synonymous with Crocuta crocuta, with firm evidence of there being more than one species within the genus Crocuta still lacking.[27]
Both Björn Kurtén and Camille Arambourg promoted an Asiatic origin for the species; Kurtén focussed his arguments on the Plio-Pleistocene taxon Crocuta sivalensis from the Siwaliks,[5] a view defended by Arambourg, who nonetheless allowed the possibility of an Indo-Ethiopian origin.[28]
This stance was contested by Ficarelli and Torre, who referred to
evidence of the spotted hyena's presence from African deposits dating
from the early Pleistocene, a similar age to the Asian C. sivalensis.[29] Studies on the phylogeographic distribution of mtDNA haplotypes indicates three migration events from Africa to Eurasia, though neither the topology of the phylogenetic tree or the fossil record
exclude the possibility of an Asian origin. The earliest migration of
spotted hyenas from Africa to Eurasia began less than 3.5 million years
ago, most probably from the area where the first spotted hyena fossils
were discovered, reaching East Asia and most likely also Pakistan.
The second migration of spotted hyenas occurred less than
1.3–1.5 million years ago and resulted in the first arrival of hyenas in
Europe and a separation of African spotted hyenas into a southern and a
northern population. The third spotted hyena migration took place
0.36 million years ago, starting from the northern African population
and reaching both Europe and Asia. Unlike other African carnivores, with
the exception of the leopard, there is no evidence to suggest that spotted hyenas underwent a genetic bottleneck during the Pleistocene.[30]
The ancestors of the genus Crocuta diverged from Hyaena (the genus of striped and brown hyenas) 10 million years ago.[30][31]
The ancestors of the spotted hyena probably developed social behaviours
in response to increased pressure from other predators on carcasses,
which forced them to operate in teams. At one point in their evolution,
spotted hyenas developed sharp carnassials behind their crushing
premolars; this rendered waiting for their prey to die no longer a
necessity, as is the case for brown and striped hyenas, and thus they
became pack hunters as well as scavengers. They began forming
increasingly larger territories, necessitated by the fact that their
prey was often migratory and long chases in a small territory would have
caused them to encroach into another clan's land.[10]
It has been theorised that female dominance in spotted hyena clans
could be an adaptation in order to successfully compete with males on
kills, and thus ensure that enough milk is produced for their cubs.[15]
Another theory is that it is an adaptation to the length of time it
takes for cubs to develop their massive skulls and jaws, thus
necessitating greater attention and dominating behaviours from females.[32]
Its appearance in Europe and China during the Cromerian period coincided with the decline and eventual extinction of Pachycrocuta brevirostris,
the giant short-faced hyena. As there is no evidence of environmental
change being responsible, it is likely that the giant short-faced hyena
became extinct due to competition with the spotted hyena.[33]
Description
Anatomy
The spotted hyena has a strong and well developed neck and forequarters, but relatively underdeveloped hindquarters. The rump is rounded rather than angular, which prevents attackers coming from behind from getting a firm grip on it.[34] The head is wide and flat with a blunt muzzle and broad rhinarium.
In contrast to the striped hyena, the ears of the spotted hyena are
rounded rather than pointed. Each foot has four digits, which are webbed
and armed with short, stout and blunt claws. The paw-pads are broad and
very flat, with the whole undersurface of the foot around them being
naked. The tail is relatively short, being 300–350 mm (12–14 in) long,[8] and resembles a pompom in appearance.[7] Unusually among hyaenids, and mammals in general, the female spotted hyena is considerably larger than the male.[35] Both sexes have a pair of anal glands which open into the rectum just inside the anal opening. These glands produce a white, creamy secretion
which is pasted onto grass stalks by everting the rectum. The odour of
this secretion is very strong, smelling of boiling cheap soap or burning, and can be detected by humans several metres downwind.[36] The spotted hyena has a proportionately large heart,
constituting close to 1% of its body weight, thus giving it great
endurance in long chases. In contrast, a lion's heart makes up only
0.45–0.57 percent of its body weight.[37]
The now extinct Eurasian populations were distinguished from the modern
African populations by their shorter distal extremities and longer humerus and femur.[38]
The skull of the spotted hyena differs from that of the striped hyena by its much greater size and narrower sagittal crest. For its size, the spotted hyena has one of the most powerfully built skulls among the Carnivora.[39]
The dentition is more dual purposed than that of other modern hyena
species, which are mostly scavengers; the upper and lower third premolars
are conical bone-crushers, with a third bone-holding cone jutting from
the lower fourth premolar. The spotted hyena also has its carnassials
situated behind its bone-crushing premolars, the position of which
allows it to crush bone with its premolars without blunting the
carnassials.[10]
Combined with large jaw muscles and a special vaulting to protect the
skull against large forces, these characteristics give the spotted hyena
a powerful bite which can exert a pressure of 80 kgf/cm2 (1140 lbf/in²),[40] which is 40% more force than a leopard can generate.[41] The jaws of the spotted hyena outmatch those of the brown bear in bone-crushing ability,[42] and free ranging hyenas have been observed to crack open the long bones of giraffes measuring 7 cm in diameter.[43]
A 63.1 kg (139 lb) spotted hyena is estimated to have a bite force of
565.7 newtons at the canine tip and 985.5 newtons at the carnassial
eocene.[44] One individual in a study was found to exert a bite force of 4,500 newtons on the measuring instruments.[45]
Dimensions
The spotted hyena is the largest extant member of the Hyaenidae.[46] Adults measure 95–165.8 cm (37–65 in) in body length, and have a shoulder height of 70–91.5 cm (28–36 in).[47] Adult male spotted hyenas in the Serengeti weigh 40.5–55.0 kg (89–121 lb), while females weigh 44.5–63.9 kg (98–141 lb). Spotted hyenas in Zambia tend to be heavier, with males weighing on average 67.6 kg (149 lb), and females 69.2 kg (153 lb).[35] Exceptionally large weights of 81.7 kg (180 lb)[10] and 90 kg (198 lb)[47] are known. It has been estimated that adult members of the now extinct Eurasian populations weighed 102 kg (225 lb).[48]
Fur colour varies greatly and changes with age.[34]
Unlike the fur of the striped and brown hyena, that of the spotted
hyena consists of spots rather than stripes and is much shorter, lacking
the well defined spinal mane of the former two species.[9]
The base colour generally is a pale greyish-brown or yellowish-grey on
which an irregular pattern of roundish spots is superimposed on the back
and hind quarters. The spots, which are of variable distinction, may be
reddish, deep brown or almost blackish. The spots vary in size, even on
single individuals, but are commonly 20 mm (0.79 in) in diameter. A
less distinct spot pattern is present on the legs and belly but not on
the throat and chest. Some research groups (such as Ngorongoro Crater
Hyena Project[49] and MSU Hyena Project[50])
often use the spot patterns to help identify individual hyenas). A set
of five, pale and barely distinct bands replace the spots on the back
and sides of the neck. A broad, medial band is present on the back of
the neck, and is lengthened into a forward facing crest. The crest is
mostly reddish-brown in colour. The crown and upper part of the face is
brownish, save for a white band above both eyes, though the front of the
eyes, the area around the rhinarium, the lips and the back portion of
the chin are all blackish. The limbs are spotted, though the feet vary
in colour, from light brown to blackish. The fur is relatively sparse
and consists of two hair types; moderately fine underfur (measuring
15–20 mm (0.59–0.79 in)) and long, stout bristle hairs (30–40 mm
(1.2–1.6 in)).[8]
European Paleolithic rock art depicting the species indicates that the
Eurasian populations retained the spots of their modern-day African
counterparts.[19]
Female genitalia
The genitalia of the female closely resembles that of the male; the clitoris is shaped and positioned like a penis, a pseudo-penis, and is capable of erection. The female also possesses no external vagina (vaginal opening), as the labia are fused to form a pseudo-scrotum.
The pseudo-penis is traversed to its tip by a central urogenital canal,
through which the female urinates, copulates and gives birth.[52][53] The pseudo-penis can be distinguished from the males' genitalia by its somewhat shorter length, greater thickness, and more rounded glans.[12][54][55] In both males and females, the base of the glans is covered with penile spines.[56][57] The formation of the pseudo-penis appears largely androgen independent, as the pseudo-penis appears in the female fetus before differentiation of the fetal ovary and adrenal gland.[12] When flaccid, the pseudo-penis is retracted into the abdomen, and only the prepuce is visible. After giving birth, the pseudo-penis is stretched, and loses many of its original aspects; it becomes a slack-walled and reduced prepuce with an enlarged orifice with split lips.[39]
Behaviour
Spotted hyenas are social animals that live in large communities (referred to as "clans") which can consist of at most 80 individuals.[58]
Group-size varies geographically; in the Serengeti, where prey is
migratory, clans are smaller than those in the Ngorongoro Crater, where
prey is sedentary.[59] Spotted hyena clans are more compact and unified than wolf packs, but are not as closely knit as those of African wild dogs.[60]
Females usually dominate males, including in cases where
low-ranking females generally dominate over high-ranking males, but they
will also occasionally co-dominate with a male.[61] There have also been cases in which a clan has been led by a male rather than a female.[62]
Cubs take the rank directly below their mothers at birth. So when the
matriarch passes away (or, in rare instances, disperses into another
clan), their youngest female cub will take over as matriarch. It is
typical for females to remain with their natal clan (although there have
been rare instances of them dispersing[63]), thus large clans usually contain several matrilines,
whereas males typically disperse from their natal clan at the age of 2½
years. Höner et al. say that when a male co-dominates with a female or
is otherwise able to lead, this is because the male was born to the
matriarch of the clan and has taken the rank directly below his mother.[61][64]
The clan is a fission-fusion society, in which clan-members do not often remain together, but may forage alone or in small groups.[65] High-ranking hyenas maintain their position through aggression directed against lower-ranking clan-members.[11] Spotted hyena hierarchy is nepotistic; the offspring of dominant females automatically outrank adult females subordinate to their mother.[66]
However, rank in spotted hyena cubs is greatly dependent on the
presence of the mother; low-ranking adults may act aggressively toward
higher-ranking cubs when the mother is absent. Although individual
spotted hyenas only care for their own young, and males take no part in
raising their young, cubs are able to identify relatives as distantly
related as great-aunts. Also, males associate more closely with their
own daughters rather than unrelated cubs, and the latter favor their
fathers by acting less aggressively toward them.[14]
Spotted hyena societies are more complex than those of other carnivorous mammals, and are remarkably similar to those of cercopithecine primates
in respect to group size, structure, competition and cooperation. Like
cercopithecine primates, spotted hyenas use multiple sensory modalities,
recognise individual conspecifics, are conscious that some clan-mates
may be more reliable than others, recognise third-party kin and rank
relationships among clan-mates, and adaptively use this knowledge during
social decision making. Also, like cercopithecine primates, dominance
ranks in hyena societies are not correlated with size or aggression, but
with ally networks.[11][14] In this latter trait, the spotted hyena further show parallels with primates by acquiring rank through coalition. However, rank reversals and overthrows in spotted hyena clans are very rare.[11] The social network dynamics of spotted hyenas are determined by multiple factors.[67]
Environmental factors include rainfall and prey abundance; individual
factors include preference to bond with females and with kin; and
topological effects include the tendency to close triads in the network. Female hyenas are more flexible than males in their social bonding preferences.[67] Higher ranking adult spotted hyenas tend to have higher telomere length and higher levels of some immune defense proteins in their blood serum.[68][69]
Territory size is highly variable, ranging from less than 40 km2 in the Ngorongoro Crater to over 1,000 km2 in the Kalahari. Home ranges are defended through vocal displays, scent marking and boundary patrols.[65] Clans mark their territories
by either pasting or pawing in special latrines located on clan range
boundaries. Clan boundaries are usually respected; hyenas chasing prey
have been observed to stop dead in their tracks once their prey crosses
into another clan's range. Hyenas will however ignore clan boundaries in
times of food shortage. Males are more likely to enter another clan's
territory than females are, as they are less attached to their natal
group and will leave it when in search of a mate. Hyenas travelling in
another clan's home range typically exhibit bodily postures associated
with fear, particularly when meeting other hyenas. An intruder can be
accepted into another clan after a long period of time if it persists in
wandering into the clan's territory, dens or kills.[70]
Mating, reproduction, and development
The spotted hyena is a non-seasonal breeder, though a birth peak does occur during the wet season. Females are polyestrous, with an estrus period lasting two weeks.[71] Like many feliform species, the spotted hyena is promiscuous, and no enduring pair bonds are formed. Members of both sexes may copulate with several mates over the course of several years.[53] Males will show submissive behaviour when approaching females in heat, even if the male outweighs his partner.[72]
Females usually favour younger males born or joined into the clan after
they were born. Older females show a similar preference, with the
addition of preferring males with whom they have had long and friendly
prior relationships.[73] Passive males tend to have greater success in courting females than aggressive ones.[74] Copulation in spotted hyenas is a relatively short affair,[72] lasting 4–12 minutes,[57] and typically only occurs at night with no other hyenas present.[72] The mating process is complicated, as the male's penis enters and exits the female's reproductive tract through her pseudo-penis
rather than directly through the vagina, which is blocked by the false
scrotum and testes. These unusual traits make mating more laborious for
the male than in other mammals, while also ensuring that forced
copulation is physically impossible.[52][53]
Once the female retracts her clitoris, the male enters the female by
sliding beneath her, an operation facilitated by the penis's upward
angle. Once this is accomplished, a typical mammalian mating posture is adopted.[53][75] Copulation may be repeated multiple times during a period of several hours.[53] Both partners usually lick their genitals for several minutes after mating.[76]
A spotted hyena cub in the
Serengeti,
Tanzania. Note the well defined spots, which will fade with age.
The length of the gestation period tends to vary greatly, though 110 days is the average length of time.[71]
In the final stages of pregnancy, dominant females provide their
developing offspring with higher androgen levels than lower-ranking
mothers do. The higher androgen levels – the result of high
concentrations of ovarian androstenedione – are thought to be
responsible for the extreme masculinization of female behavior and morphology.[77]
This has the effect of rendering the cubs of dominant females more
aggressive and sexually active than those of lower ranking hyenas; high
ranking male cubs will attempt to mount females earlier than lower
ranking males.[78] The average litter consists of two cubs, with three occasionally being reported.[71] Males take no part in the raising of young.[79]
Giving birth is difficult for female hyenas, as the females give birth
through their narrow clitoris, and spotted hyena cubs are the largest
carnivoran young relative to their mothers' weight.[80] During parturition, the clitoris ruptures in order to facilitate the passage of the young, and may take weeks to heal.[65]
Cubs are born with soft, brownish black hair, and weigh 1.5 kg on average.[81]
Unique among carnivorous mammals, spotted hyenas are also born with
their eyes open and with 6–7 mm long canine teeth and 4 mm long
incisors. Also, cubs will attack each other shortly after birth. This is
particularly apparent in same sexed litters, and can result in the
death of the weaker cub.[80] This neonatal siblicide
kills an estimated 25% of all hyenas in their first month. Male cubs
which survive grow faster and are likelier to achieve reproductive
dominance, while female survivors eliminate rivals for dominance in
their natal clan.[75] Lactating females can carry 3–4 kg (6.6–8.8 lb) of milk in their udders.[66] Spotted hyena milk has the highest protein and fat content of any terrestrial carnivore.[65][82] Cubs will nurse from their mother for 12–16 months, though they can process solid food as early as three months.[83] Mothers do not regurgitate food for their young.[84]
Females are very protective of their cubs, and will not tolerate other
adults, particularly males, approaching them. Spotted hyenas exhibit
adult behaviours very early in life; cubs have been observed to ritually
sniff each other and mark their living space before the age of one
month. Within ten days of birth, they are able to move at considerable
speed. Cubs begin to lose the black coat and develop the spotted,
lighter coloured pelage of the adults at 2–3 months. They begin to
exhibit hunting behaviours at the age of eight months, and will begin
fully participating in group hunts after their first year.[83]
Spotted hyenas reach sexual maturity at the age of three years. The
average lifespan in zoos is 12 years, with a maximum of 25 years.[85]
Denning behaviour
The clan's social life revolves around a communal den. While some
clans may use particular den sites for years, others may use several
different dens within a year or several den sites simultaneously.[65]
Spotted hyena dens can have more than a dozen entrances, and are mostly
located on flat ground. The tunnels are usually oval in section, being
wider than they are high, and narrow down from an entrance width of ½–1
metre (1.6–7.7 ft) to as small as 25 cm (9.8 in). In the rocky areas of
East Africa and Congo, spotted hyenas use caves as dens, while those in
the Serengeti use kopjes
as resting areas in daylight hours. Dens have large bare patches around
their entrances, where hyenas move or lie down on. Because of their
size, adult hyenas are incapable of using the full extent of their
burrows, as most tunnels are dug by cubs or smaller animals. The
structure of the den, consisting of small underground channels, is
likely an effective anti-predator device which protects cubs from
predation during the absence of the mother. Spotted hyenas rarely dig
their own dens, having been observed for the most part to use the
abandoned burrows of warthogs, springhares and jackals. Faeces are
usually deposited 20 metres (66 feet) away from the den, though they
urinate wherever they happen to be. Dens are used mostly by several
females at once, and it is not uncommon to see up to 20 cubs at a single
site.[86]
The general form of a spotted hyena den is tunnel-shaped, with a
spacious end chamber used for sleeping or breeding. This chamber
measures up to 2 metres (6.6 feet) in width, the height being rather
less.[87]
Females generally give birth at the communal den or a private birth
den. The latter is primarily used by low status females in order to
maintain continual access to their cubs, as well as ensure that they
become acquainted with their cubs before transferral to the communal
den.[65]
Intelligence
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Compared to other hyenas, the spotted hyena shows a greater relative amount of frontal cortex which is involved in the mediation of social behavior. Studies strongly suggest convergent evolution in spotted hyena and primate intelligence.[14] A study done by evolutionary anthropologists demonstrated that spotted hyenas outperform chimpanzees
on cooperative problem-solving tests; captive pairs of spotted hyenas
were challenged to tug two ropes in unison to earn a food reward,
successfully cooperating and learning the maneuvers quickly without
prior training. Experienced hyenas even helped inexperienced clan-mates
to solve the problem. In contrast, chimps and other primates often
require extensive training, and cooperation between individuals is not
always as easy for them.[88]
The intelligence of the spotted hyena was attested to by Dutch
colonists in 19th-century South Africa, who noted that hyenas were
exceedingly cunning and suspicious, particularly after successfully
escaping from traps.[89]
Spotted hyenas seem to plan on hunting specific species in advance;
hyenas have been observed to engage in activities such as scent marking
before setting off to hunt zebras, a behaviour which does not occur when
they target other prey species.[90] Also, spotted hyenas have been recorded to utilise deceptive
behaviour, including giving alarm calls during feeding when no enemies
are present, thus frightening off other hyenas and allowing them to
temporarily eat in peace. Similarly, mothers will emit alarm calls when
attempting to interrupt attacks on their cubs by other hyenas.[14]
Ecology
The spotted hyena is the most carnivorous member of the Hyaenidae.
[15] Unlike its brown and striped cousins, the spotted hyena is a predator, not a scavenger; this has been shown since the 1960s.
[91]
One of the earliest studies to demonstrate their hunting abilities was
done by Hans Kruuk, an African wildlife ecologist, and he showed through
a 7-year study of hyena populations in Africa that spotted hyenas hunt
as much as lions, and with later studies this has been shown to be the
average in all areas of Africa.
[92] However spotted hyenas remain mislabeled as scavengers, often even by ecologists and wildlife documentary channels.
Wildebeest are the most commonly taken medium-sized ungulate prey item in both Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, with zebra and Thomson's gazelles coming close behind.[93] Cape buffalo are rarely attacked due to differences in habitat preference, though adult bulls have been recorded to be taken on occasion.[94] In Kruger National Park, blue wildebeest, cape buffalo, Burchell's zebra, greater kudu and impala are the spotted hyena's most important prey, while giraffe, impala, wildebeest and zebra are its major food sources in the nearby Timbavati area. Springbok and kudu are the main prey in Namibia's Etosha National Park, and springbok in the Namib. In the southern Kalahari, gemsbok, wildebeest and springbok are the principal prey. In Chobe, the spotted hyena's primary prey consists of migratory zebra and resident impala. In Kenya's Masai Mara, 80% of the spotted hyena's prey consists of topi and Thomson's gazelle, save for during the four-month period when zebra and wildebeest herds migrate to the area. Bushbuck, suni and buffalo are the dominant prey items in the Aberdare Mountains, while Grant's gazelle, gerenuk, sheep, goats and cattle are likely preyed upon in northern Kenya.
In west Africa, the spotted hyena is primarily a scavenger who
will occasionally attack domestic stock and medium-size antelopes in
some areas. In Cameroon, it is common for spotted hyenas to feed on small antelopes like kob, but may also scavenge on reedbuck, kongoni, buffalo, giraffe, African elephant, topi and roan antelope carcasses. Records indicate that spotted hyenas in Malawi feed on medium to large-sized ungulates such as waterbuck and impala. In Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve, spotted hyenas primarily prey on wildebeest, followed by buffalo, zebra, impala, giraffe, reedbuck and kongoni. In Uganda, it is thought that the species primarily preys on birds and reptiles, while in Zambia it is considered a scavenger.[95]
Enemies and competitors
Where spotted hyenas and lions occupy the same geographic area, the
two species occupy the same ecological niche, and are thus in direct
competition with one another. In some cases, the extent of dietary
overlap can be as high as 68.8%.[96]
Lions typically ignore spotted hyenas, unless they are on a kill or are
being harassed by them. There exists a common misconception that hyenas
steal kills from lions, but most often it is the other way around,[97] and lions will readily steal the kills of spotted hyenas. In the Ngorongoro Crater,
it is common for lions to subsist largely on kills stolen from hyenas.
Lions are quick to follow the calls of hyenas feeding, a fact
demonstrated by field experiments, during which lions repeatedly
approached whenever the tape-recorded calls of hyenas feeding were
played.[98]
When confronted on a kill by lions, spotted hyenas will either
leave or wait patiently at a distance of 30–100 metres until the lions
have finished eating.[99] In some cases, spotted hyenas are bold enough to feed alongside lions, and may occasionally force lions off a kill.[100] This mostly occurs during the nighttime, when hyenas are bolder.[101] Spotted hyenas usually prevail against groups of lionesses unaccompanied by males if they outnumber them 4:1.[102] In some instances they were seen to have taken on and routed two pride males while outnumbering them 5:1.[103]
The two species may act aggressively toward one another even when there is no food at stake.[101]
Lions may charge at hyenas and maul them for no apparent reason; one
male lion was filmed killing two hyenas on separate occasions without
eating them,[104] and lion predation can account for up to 71% of hyena deaths in Etosha. Spotted hyenas have adapted to this pressure by frequently mobbing lions which enter their territories.[105]
Experiments on captive spotted hyenas revealed that specimens with no
prior experience with lions act indifferently to the sight of them, but
will react fearfully to the scent.[106]
Although cheetahs
and leopards preferentially prey on smaller animals than those hunted
by spotted hyenas, hyenas will steal their kills when the opportunity
presents itself. Cheetahs are usually easily intimidated by hyenas, and
put up little resistance,[107] while leopards, particularly males, may stand up to hyenas. There are records of some male leopards preying on hyenas.[108]
Hyenas are nonetheless dangerous opponents for leopards; there is at
least one record of a young adult male leopard dying from a sepsis infection caused by wounds inflicted by a spotted hyena.[109] There is also a case of two spotted hyenas killing and eating a young male leopard in Timbavati Game Reserve, apparently in revenge after a young hyena was killed by the leopard.[110]
African wild dogs
Spotted hyenas will follow packs of African wild dogs
in order to appropriate their kills. They will typically inspect areas
where wild dogs have rested and eat any food remains they find. When
approaching wild dogs at a kill, solitary hyenas will approach
cautiously and attempt to take off with a piece of meat unnoticed,
though they may be mobbed by the dogs in the attempt. When operating in
groups, spotted hyenas are more successful in pirating dog kills, though
the dog's greater tendency to assist each other puts them at an
advantage against spotted hyenas, who rarely work in unison. Cases of
dogs scavenging from spotted hyenas are rare. Although wild dog packs
can easily repel solitary hyenas, on the whole, the relationship between
the two species is a one sided benefit for the hyenas,[111] with wild dog densities being negatively correlated with high hyena populations.[112]
Black-backed and side-striped jackals, and African wolves
will feed alongside hyenas, though they will be chased if they approach
too closely. Spotted hyenas will sometimes follow jackals and wolves
during the gazelle fawning season, as jackals and wolves are effective
at tracking and catching young animals. Hyenas do not take to eating
wolf flesh readily; four hyenas were reported to take half an hour in
eating a golden wolf. Overall, the two animals typically ignore each
other when there is no food or young at stake.[113]
Though they readily take to water to catch and store prey, spotted hyenas will avoid crocodile-infested waters,[114] and usually keep a safe distance from Nile crocodiles. Recent observations shows that African rock pythons can hunt adult spotted hyenas.[115]
Other hyena species
Spotted
hyenas dominate other hyena species wherever their ranges overlap.
Brown hyenas encounter spotted hyenas in the Kalahari, where the brown
outnumber the spotted. The two species typically encounter each other on
carcasses, which the larger spotted species usually appropriate.
Sometimes, brown hyenas will stand their ground and raise their manes
while emitting growls. This usually has the effect of seemingly
confusing spotted hyenas, which will act bewildered, though they will
occasionally attack and maul their smaller cousins. Similar interactions
have been recorded between spotted and striped hyenas in the Serengeti.[116]
Communication
Spotted hyenas interacting aggressively in the Masai Mara
Spotted hyenas have a complex set of postures in communication. When
afraid, the ears are folded flat, and are often combined with baring of
the teeth and a flattening of the mane. When attacked by other hyenas or
by wild dogs, the hyena lowers its hindquarters. Before and during an
assertive attack, the head is held high with the ears cocked, mouth
closed, mane erect and the hindquarters high. The tail usually hangs
down when neutral, though it will change position according to the
situation. When a high tendency to flee an attacker is apparent, the
tail is curled below the belly. During an attack, or when excited, the
tail is carried forward on the back. An erect tail does not always
accompany a hostile encounter, as it has also been observed to occur
when a harmless social interaction occurs. Although they do not wag
their tails, spotted hyenas will flick their tails when approaching
dominant animals or when there is a slight tendency to flee. When
approaching a dominant animal, subordinate spotted hyenas will walk on
the knees of their forelegs in submission.[117]
Greeting ceremonies among clan-members consist of two individuals
standing parallel to each other and facing opposite directions. Both
individuals raise their hind legs and lick each other's anogenital area.[65]
During these greeting ceremonies, the penis or pseudo-penis often
becomes erect, in both males and females. Erection is usually a sign of
submission, rather than dominance, and is more common in males than in
females.[118]
It
is said that feasting Hyaenas engage in violent fights, and there is
such a croaking, shrieking and laughing at such times that a
superstitious person might really think all the inhabitants of the
infernal regions had been let loose.
—
Alfred Brehm (1895)[119]
The spotted hyena has an extensive vocal range, with sounds ranging
from whoops, fast whoops, grunts, groans, lows, giggles, yells, growls,
soft grunt-laughs, loud grunt-laughs, whines and soft squeals. The loud who-oop
call, along with the maniacal laughter, are among the most recognisable
sounds of Africa. Typically, very high-pitched calls indicate fear or
submission, while loud, lower-pitched calls express aggression.[120]
The pitch of the laugh indicates the hyena's age, while variations in
the frequency of notes used when hyenas make noises convey information
about the animal's social rank.[121]
Spotted hyenas may contract
brucellosis,
rinderpest[citation needed] and
anaplasmosis. They are vulnerable to
Trypanosoma congolense, which is contracted by consuming already infected herbivores, rather than through direct infection from
tsetse flies.
[123] It is known that adult spotted hyenas in the Serengeti have
antibodies against
rabies,
canine herpes,
canine brucellosis,
canine parvovirus,
feline calicivirus,
leptospirosis,
bovine brucellosis, rinderpest and anaplasmosis. During the
canine distemper
outbreak of 1993–94, molecular studies indicated that the viruses
isolated from hyenas and lions were more closely related to each other
than to the closest canine distemper virus in dogs. Evidence of canine
distemper in spotted hyenas has also been recorded in the Masai Mara.
Exposure to rabies does not cause clinical symptoms or affect individual
survival or longevity. Analyses of several hyena saliva samples showed
that the species is unlikely to be a rabies vector, thus indicating that
the species catches the disease from other animals rather than from
intraspecifics. The
microfilaria of
Dipetalonema dracuneuloides have been recorded in spotted hyenas in northern Kenya. The species is known to carry at least three
cestode species of the genus
Taenia, none of which are harmful to humans. It also carries
protozoan parasites of the genus
Hepatozoon in the Serengeti, Kenya and South Africa.
[124] Spotted hyenas may act as hosts in the life-cycles of various parasites which start life in herbivores;
Taenia hyaenae and
T. olnogojinae occur in hyenas in their adult phase.
Trichinella spiralis are found as
cysts in hyena muscles.
[123]
The spotted hyena's distribution once ranged in Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to the Urals, where it remained for at least one million years.[6] Remains have also been found in the Russian Far East, and it has been theorised that the presence of hyenas there may have delayed the colonisation of North America.[125] The causes of the species' extinction in Eurasia are still largely unknown.[6] In Western Europe at least, the spotted hyena's extinction coincided with a decline in grasslands
12,500 years ago. Europe experienced a massive loss of lowland habitats
favoured by spotted hyenas, and a corresponding increase in mixed woodlands. Spotted hyenas, under these circumstances, would have been outcompeted by wolves
and humans which were as much at home in forests as in open lands, and
in highlands as in lowlands. Spotted hyena populations began to shrink
roughly 20,000 years ago, completely disappearing from Western Europe
between 14 and 11,000 years ago, and earlier in some areas.[126]
Historically, the spotted hyena was widespread throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
It is present in all habitats save for the most extreme desert
conditions, tropical rainforests and the top of alpine mountains. Its
current distribution is patchy in many places, especially in West
Africa. Populations are concentrated in protected areas and surrounding
land. There is a continuous distribution over large areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia and the Transvaal Lowveld areas of South Africa.[127] During the 1770s and 1780s the species was still widespread in southern and western South Africa, being recorded on the Cape Peninsula and Cape Flats, and near present-day Somerset West, Riviersonderend, Mossel Bay, George, Joubertina, Gamtoos River, Jansenville, Cannon Rocks, Alice, Onseepkans and Augrabies Falls.[128]
The species dwells in semi-deserts, savannah, open woodland, dense dry woodland, and mountainous forests up to 4,000 m in altitude. It is scarce or absent in tropical rainforests and coastal
areas. Its preferred habitats in west Africa include the Guinea and
Sudan savannahs, and is absent in the belt of dense coastal forest. In
the Namib Desert,
it occurs in riverine growth along seasonal rivers, the sub-desertic
pro-Namib and the adjoining inland plateau. In ideal habitats, the
spotted hyena outnumbers other large carnivores, including other hyena
species. However, the striped and brown hyena occur at greater densities
than the spotted species in desert and semi-desert regions.[129] Population densities based on systematic censuses vary substantially, from 0.006 to 1.7 individuals per km2.[2]
In Africa, the spotted hyena is usually portrayed as an abnormal and ambivalent animal, considered to be sly, brutish, necrophagous and dangerous. It further embodies physical power, excessiveness, ugliness, stupidity, as well as sacredness.
Spotted hyenas vary in their folkloric and mythological depictions,
depending on the ethnic group from which the tales originate. It is
often difficult to know whether or not spotted hyenas are the specific
hyena species featured in such stories, particularly in West Africa, as
both spotted and striped hyenas are often given the same names.[130]
In west African tales, spotted hyenas symbolise immorality, dirty
habits, the reversal of normal activities, and other negative traits,
and are sometimes depicted as bad Muslims who challenge the local animism that exists among the Beng in Côte d’Ivoire. In East Africa, Tabwa mythology portrays the spotted hyena as a solar animal that first brought the sun to warm the cold earth.[130]
Spotted hyenas feature prominently in the rituals of certain African cultures. In the Gelede cult of the Yoruba people of Benin and Southwest Nigeria, a spotted hyena mask is used at dawn to signal the end of the èfè
ceremony. As the spotted hyena usually finishes the meals of other
carnivores, the animal is associated with the conclusion of all things.
Among the Korè cult of the Bambara people
in Mali, the belief that spotted hyenas are hermaphrodites appears as
an ideal in-between in the ritual domain. The role of the spotted hyena
mask in their rituals is often to turn the neophyte into a complete
moral being by integrating his male principles with femininity. The Beng
people believe that upon finding a freshly killed hyena with its anus
inverted, one must plug it back in, for fear of being struck down with
perpetual laughter. They also view spotted hyena faeces as
contaminating, and will evacuate a village if a hyena relieves itself
within village boundaries.[130] In Harar,
Ethiopia, spotted hyenas are regularly fed by the city's inhabitants,
who believe the hyenas' presence keeps devils at bay, and associate
mystical properties such as fortune telling to them.[131]
As several distinguished authors of the present age have undertaken
to reconcile the world to the Great Man-Killer of Modern times; as Aaron Burr has found an apologist, and almost a eulogist; and as learned commentators have recently discovered that even Judas Iscariot was a true disciple,
we are rather surprised to find that someone has not undertaken to
render the family of Hyenas popular and amiable in the eyes of mankind.
Certain it is, that few marked characters in history have suffered more
from the malign inventions of prejudice[132]
Traditional Western beliefs about the spotted hyena can be traced back to Aristotle's Historia Animalium, which described the species as a necrophagous, cowardly and potentially dangerous animal. He further described how the hyena uses retching noises to attract dogs. In On the Generation of Animals, Aristotle criticised the erroneous belief that the spotted hyena is a hermaphrodite (which likely originated from the confusion caused by the masculinised genitalia of the female), though his physical descriptions are more consistent with the striped hyena. Pliny the Elder
supported Aristotle's depiction, though he further elaborated that the
hyena can imitate human voices. Additionally, he wrote how the hyena was
held in high regard among the Magi, and that hyena body parts could cure different diseases, give protection and stimulate sexual desire in people.[20]
Natural historians of the 18th and 19th centuries rejected
stories of hermaphroditism in hyenas, and recognised the differences
between the spotted and striped hyena. However, they continued to focus
on the species' scavenging habits, their potential to rob graves and
their perceived cowardice. During the 20th century, Western and African
stereotypes of the spotted hyena converged; in both Ernest Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa and Disney's The Lion King,
the traits of gluttony and comical stupidity, common in African
depictions of hyenas, are added to the Western perception of hyenas
being cowardly and ugly.[20] After the release of The Lion King, hyena biologists protested against the animal's portrayal: one hyena researcher sued Disney studios for defamation of character,[133] and another – who had organized the animators' visit to the University of California's Field Station for Behavioural Research, where they would observe and sketch captive hyenas[20] – suggested boycotting the film.[134]
When targeting livestock, the spotted hyena primarily preys upon cattle, sheep and goats,[13] though hyenas in the southern parts of Tigray Region of Ethiopia preferentially target donkeys.[135]
Reports of livestock damage are often not substantiated, and hyenas
observed scavenging on a carcass may be mistaken for having killed the
animal. The rate at which the species targets livestock may depend on a
number of factors, including stock keeping practices, the availability
of wild prey and human-associated sources of organic material, such as rubbish. Surplus killing
has been recorded in South Africa's eastern Cape Province. Attacks on
stock tend to be fewer in areas where livestock is corralled by thorn
fences and where domestic dogs are present. One study in northern Kenya
revealed that 90% of all cases of livestock predation by hyenas occurred
in areas outside the protection of thorn fences.[13]
Like most mammalian predators, the spotted hyena is typically shy in the presence of humans, and has the highest flight distance
(up to 300 metres) among African carnivores. However, this distance is
reduced during the night, when hyenas are known to follow people
closely.[136]
Although spotted hyenas do prey on humans in modern times, such
incidents are rare. However, attacks on humans by spotted hyenas are
likely to be underreported.[137]
Man-eating spotted hyenas tend to be very large specimens; a pair of
man-eating hyenas, responsible for killing 27 people in Mlanje, Malawi, in 1962, were weighed at 72 and 77 kg (159 and 170 lb) after being shot.[138] Victims of spotted hyenas tend to be women, children and sick or infirm men,[139] and there are numerous cases of biologists in Africa being forced up trees to escape them.[138] Attacks occur most commonly in September, when many people sleep outdoors, and bush fires make the hunting of wild game difficult for hyenas.[137][138]
In 1903, Hector Duff wrote of how spotted hyenas in the Mzimba district of Angoniland would wait at dawn outside people's huts and attack them when they opened their doors.[140] In 1908–09 in Uganda, spotted hyenas regularly killed sufferers of African sleeping sickness as they slept outside in camps.[139]
Spotted hyenas are widely feared in Malawi, where they have been known
to occasionally attack people at night, particularly during the hot
season when people sleep outside. Hyena attacks were widely reported in
Malawi's Phalombe
plain, to the north of Michesi Mountain. Five deaths were recorded in
1956, five in 1957 and six in 1958. This pattern continued until 1961
when eight people were killed.[140] During the 1960s, Flying Doctors received over two dozen cases of hyena attacks on humans in Kenya.[141] An anecdotal 2004 news report from the World Wide Fund for Nature
indicates that 35 people were killed by spotted hyenas during a
12-month period in Mozambique along a 20 km stretch of road near the
Tanzanian border.[137]
Although attacks against living humans are rare, the spotted hyena readily feeds on human corpses. In the tradition of the Maasai[141] and the Hadza,[142]
corpses are left in the open for spotted hyenas to eat. A corpse
rejected by hyenas is seen as having something wrong with it, and liable
to cause social disgrace, therefore it is not uncommon for bodies to be
covered in fat and blood from a slaughtered ox.[141] In Ethiopia, hyenas were reported to feed extensively on the corpses of victims of the 1960 attempted coup[143] and the Red Terror.[144]
Hyenas habituated to scavenging on human corpses may develop bold
behaviours towards living people; hyena attacks on people in southern
Sudan increased during the Second Sudanese Civil War, when human corpses were readily available to them.[145]
In
some parts of Africa, spotted hyenas have begun to frequent
metropolitan areas, where groups or "clans" of the animals have become a
menace. The Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa
is estimated to have up to a thousand resident hyenas which survive by
scavenging rubbish tips and preying on feral dogs and cats. There have
also been attacks on homeless people. In 2013, a baby boy was killed by
hyenas after being snatched from his mother as she camped near the Hilton Hotel.
Some 40 of the animals were reportedly seen alongside a fence bordering
the British Embassy compound. In December 2013, a cull was organised
and marksmen killed ten hyenas which had occupied wasteland near the
city centre.[146]
The spotted hyena has been hunted for its body parts for use in traditional medicine,[147] for amusement,[20] and for sport, though this is rare, as the species is generally not considered attractive.[147][135] There is fossil evidence of humans in Middle Pleistocene Europe butchering and presumably consuming spotted hyenas.[148]
Such incidences are rare in modern Africa, where most tribes, even
those known to eat unusual kinds of meat, generally despise hyena flesh.[136]
Several authors during the Scramble for Africa
attested that, despite its physical strength, the spotted hyena poses
no danger to hunters when captured or cornered. It was often the case
that native skinners refused to even touch hyena carcasses, though this was not usually a problem, as hyena skins were not considered attractive.[139][149]
In Burkina Faso, the hyena's tail is used for medicinal and
magical purposes. In Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, the animals'
whole body is harvested for bushmeat
and medicine. In Malawi and Tanzania, the genitalia, nose tips and
tails are used for traditional medicine. In Mozambique, traditional
healers use various spotted hyena body parts, particularly the paws.[147] Oromo hunters typically go through ritual purification after killing hyenas.[150]
Kujamaat hunters traditionally treat the spotted hyenas they kill with
the same respect due to deceased tribal elders, in order to avoid
retribution from hyena spirits acting on behalf of the dead animal.[130]
During the early years of Dutch colonisation in southern Africa,
hyenas (referred to as "wolves" by the colonists) were especially
susceptible to trapping,
as their predilection for eating carrion, and lack of caution about
enclosed spaces, worked against them. A feature of many frontier farms
was the wolwehok (hyena trap), which was roughly constructed from
stone or wood and baited with meat. The trap featured a trap-door,
which was designed to shut once the bait was disturbed.[151] In the Cape Colony,
spotted hyenas were often hunted by tracking them to their dens and
shooting them as they escaped. Another hunting method was to trap them
in their dens and dazzle them with torchlight, before stabbing them in
the heart with a long knife.[89]
When chased by hunting dogs, spotted hyenas often attack back, unless the dogs are of exceptionally large, powerful breeds. James Stevenson-Hamilton
wrote that wounded spotted hyenas could be dangerous adversaries for
hunting dogs, recording an incident in which a hyena managed to kill a
dog with a single bite to the neck without breaking the skin.[152]
Further difficulties in killing spotted hyenas with dogs include the
species' thick skin, which prevents dogs from inflicting serious damage
to the animal's muscles.[153]
Spotted hyenas in captivity and as pets
From a husbandry
point of view, hyenas are easily kept, as they have few disease
problems and it is not uncommon for captive hyenas to reach 15–20 years
of age. One study of the hyena immune system showed that captive hyenas
had lower levels for immune defenses than hyenas from the wild
population that was used to establish the captive population.[154] Nevertheless, the spotted hyena was historically scantily represented in zoos,
and was typically obtained in order to fill empty cages until a more
prestigious species could be obtained. In subsequent years, animals
considered to be more charismatic were allocated larger and better
quality facilities, while hyenas were often relegated to inferior
exhibits.
In modern times, the species faces spatial competition from more popular animals, especially large canids.
Also, many captive individuals have not been closely examined to
confirm their sexes, thus resulting in non-breeding pairs often turning
out to be same-sexed individuals. As a result, many captive hyena
populations are facing extinction.[155]
During the 19th century, the species was frequently displayed in travelling circuses as oddities. Alfred Brehm
wrote that the spotted hyena is harder to tame than the striped hyena,
and that performing specimens in circuses were not up to standard.[156] Sir John Barrow described how spotted hyenas in Sneeuberge were trained to hunt game, writing that they were "as faithful and diligent as any of the common domestic dogs".[157]
In Tanzania, spotted hyena cubs may be taken from a communal den by witchdoctors, in order to increase their social status.[141] An April 2004 BBC article described how a shepherd living in the small town of Qabri Bayah about 50 kilometres from Jigjiga, Ethiopia managed to use a male spotted hyena as a livestock guardian dog, suppressing its urge to leave and find a mate by feeding it special herbs.[158]
If not raised with adult members of their kind, captive spotted hyenas
will exhibit scent marking behaviours much later in life than wild
specimens.[81]
Although easily tamed, spotted hyenas are exceedingly difficult to house train,[159] and can be very destructive; a captive, otherwise perfectly tame, specimen in the Tower of London managed to tear an 8-foot (2.4 m) long plank nailed to its recently repaired enclosure floor with no apparent effort.[160] During the research leading to the composition of his monograph The Spotted Hyena: A Study of Predation and Social Behavior, Hans Kruuk kept a tame hyena he named Solomon.[91]
Kruuk found Solomon's company so congenial, he would have kept him, but
Solomon had an insatiable taste for "cheese in the bar of the tourist
lounge and bacon off the Chief Park Warden's breakfast table", and no
door could hold him back, so Solomon was obliged to live out his days in
the Edinburgh Zoo.[161]
Binomial name
Crocuta crocuta
Range of the spotted hyena
Hind
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