A hyena looks like a dog, but it is not one. Hyenas belong to the cat-like carnivores, called feliforms, and are more closely related to cats than dogs, even though they look more like canines. The spotted hyena is the largest of the four living kinds of hyena. It is called the laughing hyena because of the giggling sounds it makes. But the laugh is not a sign that it is amused. A hyena giggles when it is excited, frustrated or stressed, for example when many hyenas want the same food.
Many people also believe that hyenas only eat leftovers from other animals. In a Kalahari study, 70 percent of what spotted hyenas ate came from animals they hunted themselves, so the idea that they mostly scavenge is not accurate.
How much of a hyena's food comes from hunting? For many hyena populations, hunting is the main source of food, 25 to 60 percent of observed feeding events. In one Masai Mara population it was about 95 percent of the annual food biomass. Scavenging matters more when dead animals are plentiful and preferred prey are scarce, and its importance varies by place and season. The old picture of hyenas as gluttonous scavengers is inaccurate.
Many of a spotted hyena's meals are hoofed animals such as wildebeest and zebra. Spotted hyenas usually hunt alone or in groups of 2 to 4, and form groups of 12 or more when cubs come along. In studies, hyenas seeking food approach slowly from downwind and spread out 5 to 10 m apart. They then run at the herd, pause to look it over, and give up if no suitable animal is found. Chases usually run for short distances at high speed, typically 500 to 2500 m, and on occasion last 20 minutes or more.
What a hyena does not hunt, it may find. Spotted hyenas use almost every part of their food, and their teeth are strong enough to crush big bones. When they eat animals that are already dead, they help clean up the places where they live. For its size, a spotted hyena has one of the strongest bites of any mammal. In one study, the strongest bite measured from a captive spotted hyena was about 4500 N. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says it is likely higher in the wild.
A spotted hyena clan is led by females. A hyena cub gets its rank in the clan from its mother. Even though they live in a clan, spotted hyenas spend most of their time alone or in small groups, and meet up for things like guarding the territory and the den. When young male hyenas grow up, they leave and join other clans. A male that joins a new clan waits in a line, called a dominance queue, and moves up as older males leave or die.
Words to know
- feliforms: cat-like hunters
- canines: dog-like animals
- scavenge: eat found food
- biomass: weight of food
- downwind: facing the wind
