🐊 American alligator vs Spotted hyena 🐾
The American alligator is about twice as long as the spotted hyena. The American alligator weighs about 8 times as much as the spotted hyena.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐊 American alligator | 🐾 Spotted hyena |
|---|---|---|
| Size The American alligator is about twice as long as the spotted hyena. | 8 to 11 ft2.4 to 3.4 m1 | 4.1 to 6.1 ft1.3 to 1.9 m2 |
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the American alligator yet. | no checked number yet | 37 mph60 km/h2 |
| Weight The American alligator weighs about 8 times as much as the spotted hyena. | 1,000 lb454 kg3 | 99 to 154 lb45 to 70 kg2 |
| Lives The American alligator usually lives about 3 times as long as the spotted hyena. | 50 years50 years1 | 20 years20 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | fish, turtles, frogs, snakes and birds | land animals that have a backbone |
| Lives in They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. | swamps, marshes, rivers and lakes of the southeastern United States | open, dry places across Africa south of the Sahara, from semi-desert to savanna and mountain forest |
Which one? American alligator or spotted hyena
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the American alligator yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
10 things to know about American alligator vs Spotted hyena
- The American alligator: It digs pools in the swamp that help other animals in dry weather.
- The spotted hyena: A strong African animal with a spotted coat and a sloping back.
- They are different kinds of animal. The American alligator is a reptile, so it has scaly skin; the spotted hyena is a mammal, so it breathes air with lungs and feeds its babies milk.
- The American alligator is about twice as long as the spotted hyena: 1 against 2.
- The American alligator weighs about 8 times as much as the spotted hyena. That is 3 for the American alligator and 2 for the spotted hyena.
- The American alligator usually lives about 3 times as long as the spotted hyena. Usual lifespans: 1 for the American alligator and 2 for the spotted hyena.
- Both eat meat. The American alligator eats fish, turtles, frogs, snakes and birds; the spotted hyena eats land animals that have a backbone.
- The American alligator lives in swamps, marshes, rivers and lakes of the southeastern United States. The spotted hyena lives in open, dry places across Africa south of the Sahara, from semi-desert to savanna and mountain forest. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
- The American alligator: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
- The spotted hyena: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 5
Wow facts
🐊 American alligator
- Baby alligators chirp from inside their eggs.
- The warmth of the nest decides if hatchlings are males or females.
- An alligator's snout is wide and rounded, like a U.
🐾 Spotted hyena
- A spotted hyena can run fast over a long way.
- It lives in savanna, semi-desert and mountain forest.
- It also cleans up what other animals leave.
Questions kids ask about American alligator and Spotted hyena
Which is bigger, American alligator or spotted hyena?
The American alligator is about twice as long as the spotted hyena: 1 against 2.
Which is heavier, American alligator or spotted hyena?
The American alligator weighs about 8 times as much as the spotted hyena. That is 3 for the American alligator and 2 for the spotted hyena.
Which lives longer, American alligator or spotted hyena?
The American alligator usually lives about 3 times as long as the spotted hyena. Usual lifespans: 1 for the American alligator and 2 for the spotted hyena.
What do American alligator and spotted hyena eat?
Both eat meat. The American alligator eats fish, turtles, frogs, snakes and birds; the spotted hyena eats land animals that have a backbone.
Where do American alligator and spotted hyena live?
The American alligator lives in swamps, marshes, rivers and lakes of the southeastern United States. The spotted hyena lives in open, dry places across Africa south of the Sahara, from semi-desert to savanna and mountain forest. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet.
Who would win, American alligator or spotted hyena?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They live in different kinds of places, so they would hardly ever meet. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/american-alligator-vs-spotted-hyena
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Gulf Islands, checked 30 October 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Crocuta crocuta (spotted hyena), checked 10 November 2026.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.