Hyena: The Perfect Scavengers Provided by Nature

Hyenas are a group of carnivorous animals which belong to the order carnivora, suborder feliformia and family hyaenidae. Even though they look like dogs in their external appearance, they are believed to be more closely related to cats than dogs and are placed in the suborder feliformia (cat- like carnivores). The family contains four species in three genera, three of which are restricted to Africa and striped hyena is found in India.

Hyenas are primarily scavenging animals, but the spotted hyenas, which are in fact the largest species of hyena, get nearly 95% of the food that they eat by hunting. Small animals like gazelle, Impala, Topi, unguarded calves of large animals like giraffes, wildebeests, kudus, cape buffaloes and elands can also fall prey to them. The bite of striped hyenas is the strongest known bite in the entire mammalian class. They are capable of eating virtually everything, right from the bones, horns, hooves and other hard parts of an animal that the lions and leopards can’t eat.

The largest species of hyena is the spotted hyena of Africa (Crocuta crocuta). They live in clans consisting of a very large number of animals and hence they are capable of driving leopards and in some cases even lions away from their kills. Even though a lion is a formidable opponent for a single hyena, when there is a clan of a large number of hyenas, the lions usually retreat, and the powerful bite of a hyena means that if it can get grip on the throat, it can kill even the mightiest of the lions. Hence the spotted hyenas are the most dreaded carnivores of Africa.

Unlike most of the other land mammals, the females are usually slightly larger than males. The average weight for males is about 67 kg and that of the females is about 70 kg. Spotted hyenas are known to kill and eat humans, even though such incidents are very rare. There are several authentic records of spotted hyenas having attacked and killed human beings. Because of their large size and clanning behavior, they can be formidable antagonists for human beings. The largest recorded specimens weighed 81 kg and 90 kg (male and female respectively). But there might be some special circumstances which lead them to attacking human beings. Otherwise they are shy creatures which run away at the first sight of a man.

Brown hyenas (Hyaena brunnea) are the second largest species of hyena. They weigh around 40-45 kg and females are usually 5 kg lighter than the males. Unlike their spotted counterparts, they are very poor hunters and most of their food comes from scavenging. In Kalahari Desert, they have been known to have driven away the adult leopards from their kills. The leopards avoid conflicts with hyenas, because they are intelligent enough to climb the trees to escape the wrath of these dreaded carnivores.

Striped hyena (Hyaena hyena) is the third largest member of family hyaenidae. This is the sole hyena species found in India. The diet of spotted hyenas mainly consists of the leftovers of the kills of tigers and panthers. They are extremely shy creatures and don’t show the courage which is shown by their spotted cousins. There are reports of them having attacked human beings, but never did they turn out to be confirmed man eaters like the spotted ones. They are solitary animals and hence can’t get the better of leopards and other large carnivores. Even though some people say that they are capable of driving away even tigers from their kills, I am highly doubtful about this claim, because a hyena which weighs just over 40 kg is nothing compared to a full grown huge male royal Bengal tiger, which weighs over 250 kg. The tiger can rip apart a single hyena in just a few minutes.

Aardwolf (Proteles cristata) is the smallest member of the hyena family. Their striped body gives them resemblance to striped hyenas, but they belong to the subfamily protelinae. Their body looks more level than the other three members of the family, because their forelimbs and hind limbs are approximately of the same length, whereas the aforesaid three members, which belong to the subfamily hyaeninae, have unusually longer forelimbs, giving them a humpback appearance.

No matter whatever may be the size and behavior of the four different species of hyenas, one thing is sure. That is all the four species are endangered today due to various human activities. So it’s our duty to ensure that the natural scavengers that the Mother Nature has blessed us with!!