In Africa, the inexperienced traveler faces numerous dangers at every turn. This continent is inhabited by various animals, which are better not to meet alone. These are not only lions, crocodiles, leopards, cheetahs, rhinos, elephants, but also hyenas. At night, these flocking predators become more active, and woe to the traveler who did not have time to make a big fire and stock up on firewood for the whole night.
The spotted hyena is the largest representative of carrion mammals. It embodies to the greatest extent all the habits, features and structure characteristic of this species. The body length of the spotted hyena is from 95 to 166 cm, the tail is from 26 to 36 cm, and the height of the withers is about 80 cm.
This species, although relatively small, is dangerous to humans, especially in a flock. These are very ferocious predators. Spotted hyenas are the only mammals whose jaws are capable of creating tremendous pressure (from 50 to 70 kg per sq. cm). They easily gnaw the bones of a hippopotamus. spotted hyenaslisted in the Red Book. They live in natural conditions up to 25 years, in captivity - up to forty.
Spotted Hyena Habitat - Wild Africa
This type of predator can only be found in Africa. The most common habitat for spotted hyenas is the entire territory south of the Sahara. This is mainly south and east Africa, near the Cape of Good Hope, in the Ngorongoro Crater, in Kenya, the Serengeti, Botswana and Namibia.
Wild Africa is rich in desert and jungle, but spotted hyenas are not found there. Their favorite places to live are savannahs. These animals are not very friendly with other members of their species, so striped and brown hyenas are often driven out of their homes.
What does a spotted hyena look like
Representatives of this species have a broad black muzzle, resembling a dog, with rounded ears. Spotted hyenas have very powerful jaws, a sloping back, and hind legs shorter than the front ones. Despite the uneven height of the legs, hyenas are able to reach speeds of up to 65 km / h. The limbs of predators are four-fingered, the claws are not retractable. When running, hyenas step on their toes. The coat of animals is short, except for coarse hair on the back and neck, which form a mane.
Color
Spotted hyena has several color options. It can be dark or light. The coat color is yellow-brown with dark or light brown spots on the body. The muzzle is black, on the back of the head it has a reddish tint. Head brown, without spots. The limbs of the legs are tinged with grey. Tail– brown with a black tip.
Voice
The spotted hyena emits up to 11 different sounds. A drawn-out howl, more like a “laughter”, these animals use to communicate with each other. During fights for prey, they "giggle", "laugh", growl and shout. Moans and squeals are used to greet.
It is interesting that the flock rarely or late reacts to the sounds of males, and immediately to the signals given by females. A low growl and grunting sounds (with the mouth closed) express aggression. A high-pitched, cackling-like "laughter" is made when agitated or in danger (such as when a hyena is being chased). Predators use a loud and deep vibrating growl before attacking and defending as a threat. When a lion appears, the hyena signals to its brethren with a loud, low growl.
Hierarchy in flocks
Wild hyenas live in matriarchal clans, in areas up to 1800 square meters. km. In flocks there is a rigid hierarchy. Females dominate the opposite sex. However, there is an additional division between them. Adults are considered in charge. They are the first to start eating, rest at the entrance to the den, grow more offspring. Females with a lower position in the pack do not receive such privileges, but belong to the middle of the hierarchy.
Males occupy the lowest rung. At the same time, they also have a similar division. High-ranking individuals have priority access to females. Nevertheless, all demonstrate a general submissiveness to the other sex. For reproduction, males often joinnew flocks.
Among the spotted hyenas, inter-clan wars for habitat are constantly taking place. The boundaries of the territory are constantly patrolled by these predators and are demarcated by feces, as well as anal secretions of odorous glands. The number of one clan can reach from 10 to 100 individuals.
Genital organs
The spotted hyena has unique genitalia. All females have an organ in the form of a penis. Only an experienced specialist can distinguish the gender of these animals. The female genitalia resemble those of the male. The clitoris is very similar to the penis. Below it is the scrotum. The urogenital canal passes through the clitoris-dick.
Enemies of spotted hyenas
These predators have "eternal" rivals. Lions and hyenas are constantly competing. This struggle takes sometimes cruel forms. Hyenas love to attack small lion cubs and often kill old and sick adults. In response, the lions destroy the hyenas. The war between predators is also for food. Lions and hyenas often chase each other away from their prey. The victory goes to the larger "squad".
What do spotted hyenas eat
These animals are very picky about food. But the main food for hyenas is carrion. They can hunt and eat fresh meat, but also do not disdain the corpses of animals, and sometimes eat relatives. As mentioned above, these animals have very developed jaws. For this reason, spotted hyenas eat every part of the prey's body, leaving almost nothing. Such opportunitycarried out by a unique digestive system, as well as a very active gastric juice.
What can hyenas eat? Wildlife has created unique "orderlies". These predators are able to absorb everything - skin, bones, hooves, horns, teeth, wool and feces. All this is digested in the stomach during the day. These predators also feed on dead animals that are almost completely decomposed.
However, 50% of the diet of spotted hyenas are the corpses of ungulates (rhinos, zebras, gazelles, antelopes, etc.). Predators often pursue sick and old animals. They also feed on hares, porcupines, gazelles, warthogs and many other animals. For example, a pack of hyenas can even attack such giants as a giraffe, a rhinoceros and a hippopotamus.
Hunting
These predators have a reputation for being cowardly, but this is far from the case. According to numerous studies, hyenas are excellent hunters that excel lions in this art. These scavengers are most active at night. In search of food, hyenas travel long distances - up to 70 kilometers in one day. During the day, they hunt less often, preferring to rest in the shade or lie in shallow water.
Hyena hunting consists in exhausting the prey with a long run. These predators can run a huge distance. When they overtake prey, they gnaw through the main blood arteries on their paws. Hyenas do not strangle their victims, like many other predators, but begin to tear the still living flesh.
Hunting is different. For medium-sizedgazelle go out singly, on antelopes - in small groups of 3 to 4 individuals. When hunting, they make different sounds, but more often - “laughter”, turning into a drawn-out howl.
Thanks to their excellent sense of smell, African hyenas are able to smell carrion at a distance of over 4 kilometers. They use sight and hearing to hunt. Despite the eternal war with lions, hyenas will not be able to take their prey if there is an adult he althy male in the enemy camp.
The spotted African predator is an amazing animal. The hyena has a certain cowardice in its habits, which can best be called caution. She is very aggressive and cheeky. If the hyena is hungry, it is able to bite even large animals. In hunting, he tries to use his huge jaw strength, fast running and ferocity. A hungry hyena can also attack people. At the same time, she is so strong that she can carry away the human body at a gallop with ease and alone.
Reproduction
The spotted hyena uses burrows of other animals or small caves to breed. Cubs, despite its aggressiveness, she does not eat. Increased viciousness is due to the high content of the hormone androgen. But this quality is given by nature to protect offspring, so that females can protect and feed their cubs, which reach puberty only by 3 years.
Offspring appear before the start of the rainy season. Females bear cubs for approximately 100 days. One litter can contain up to four babies at the same time. They are born already sighted and withgood hearing. After 3 months, the babies already weigh over 14 kg.
If the cubs are same-sex, then almost immediately after birth, a struggle to the death begins between them. Spotted hyenas feed their offspring with milk for more than a year, but nevertheless, this does not prevent the young from starting to hunt and eat fully from the first months of life.
The benefits of hyenas in nature
These animals occupy one of the main places in maintaining the savannah ecosystem. These are natural "nurses". They kill almost 12% of the wildebeest in the Serenghetti each year, allowing the herbivores to keep the density of their species within reasonable limits. Mostly old or sick animals get into the teeth of spotted hyenas.
