Identification - Spotted hyenas have a rather bear-like appearance and are the largest and most powerful of the three species of hyenas found in Africa. They have large rounded ears and a sloping back, and the short, bushy tail is carried erect and flared in aggressive situations. With increasing age, the spots become less obvious. Females are larger than males and are further distinguished by the presence of a pair of enlarged, dark nipples after their first cubs have been born. Spotted hyenas possess the most powerful jaws of all land predators; equipped with extraordinarily powerful molar teeth for crushing bones. They have blunt, non-retractile claws adapted for the long distance chase and are the most abundant large mammalian predator in Africa. Voice - Hyenas are extremely vocal, giving voice to a rich variety of grunts, growls, crackles, and screams when gathered at a kill. Such peels of maniacal laughter gave rise to the name 'laughing hyena'. The contact call is a characteristic wailing whoop, uttered with the head to the ground and repeated five to ten times. This can carry for more than three miles (5 km). Habitat - Widespread in a variety of habitats from semi-desert and dry bush country, to moist savanna and forested regions up to 13,000 ft (4,000 m). Habits - Primarily nocturnal and terrestrial. Hyenas are commonly seen during daylight and are highly opportunistic; scavenging and killing at any time of the day or night if the opportunity arises, though they generally rest between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. They are usually found in clans of 5 to 30 individuals consisting of adult females and their off-spring, together with a number of unrelated males. Females remain in their natal clan for life, while males leave and join up with other nomadic males, eventually becoming resident in a new clan after a transitional period requiring considerable submission. Females lead the clan in hunting and defense of territory, and are dominant over the males, with the most dominant females usually being the biggest and most aggressive hyenas. Sons of dominant females out rank all clan members except their mother, and are able to remain in their clan longer than their male age-mates. This may confer advantages on them when they transfer to another clan, including being better fed and more confident. Clan members recognize each other by scent. They mark grass stems with secretions from their anal glands, scratch up earth with their forefeet, leave scent from inter-digital glands as they walk, as well as depositing their bone-white droppings on conspicuous sites. Hyenas have always been known for their scavenging from other predators. However, they are now known to be formidable predators, capable of making their own kills either singly or in groups. They hunt by chasing prey animals such as wildebeest and zebra to the point of exhaustion before disemboweling them. Hyenas can gallop at speeds of 25 to 30 mph (40 - 48 kph) for one or two miles (1.6 - 3.2 km), and even a solitary hyena is quite able to pull down a full grown wildebeest. A hyena can comfortably eat 33 lb (15 kg) of meat at a sitting, and crack open the heaviest bones to feed on the marrow. This calcium rich diet is the reason for their distinctive white droppings. During the day hyenas often lie in the water at the edge of muddy pools to keep cool. They have excellent hearing and a highly developed sense of smell, which they employ to good advantage when seeking out carcasses to feed on. In folklore, hyenas are associated with witches, who are believed to ride about at night on their backs. Reproduction - For many years hyenas were thought to possess both male and female sex organs (hermaphroditic) due to the fact that the external labia of the female are swollen in the form of a false scrotum, and the clitoris is long and erectile making it indistinguishable from the male's penis. Copulation takes place by the male inserting his penis into an enlarged opening in the female's clitoris, which connects with the merged urino-genital duct. The reasons for these strange adaptations are still being debated. The young are born throughout the year, and females usually give birth to two cubs in an abandoned aardvark or warthog burrow; usually with a narrow entrance to prevent predators from entering the den. The cubs are well developed at birth with their eyes open and their canine and incisor teeth already cut. It has recently been discovered that siblings of the same sex fight for dominance, and death of one of the cubs is not uncommon within the first month. Siblings of the opposite sex co-exist peacefully. After a few weeks, the cubs are transferred to a communal den occupied by several females and their young. Cubs are black at birth with the spots gradually becoming more obvious. They are seldom provisioned or guarded by clan members other than their mother (despite being related to some of them), and males play no part in cub rearing. Young hyenas suckle until they are 12 to 14 months old by which time they are old enough to accompany their mother on hunts and can compete at kills. Males leave their natal clan at around two years old. Food - They prey on both large and medium-sized herbivores such as wildebeest and Thomson's gazelles, and the young of most of the larger species of antelopes. Hyenas are very efficient feeders, eating everything, except for the rumen contents and the horns of their prey, all of which is digested completely within 24 hours. They are highly adaptable and will eat anything vaguely edible, including people. Hyena have been known to bite off the face of a person sleeping in the open. A number of deaths are reported each year in East Africa. Predation - Hyenas occasionally kill each other during inter-clan battles, and lions (particularly males) sometimes kill them at disputes over a carcass, though they do not eat them. Hyenas may also be attacked if they stray too close to a pack of wild dogs. Young hyenas are occasionally attacked and killed at their den by a belligerent male lion, and male hyenas sometimes kill and eat cubs.

Identification - Smaller, lighter in build and rarer than the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), with pointed upright ears, not rounded ones. The coat is sandy-gray with vertical black stripes, and an erect mane of long hair along the back. The front of face is black. Male striped hyenas are somewhat larger than females. Voice - The long distance contact call is said to be a raucous howl. Unearthly moans, shrieks, groans, growls, and giggles are uttered when individuals compete for food at a carcass. Habitat - Woodlands, rocky hillsides bordering savanna, dry bush country, and semi-desert. They are widely distributed, but everywhere very uncommon. Like the leopard, the striped hyena occurs both in Africa and Asia. Habits - Strictly nocturnal, lying up in caves, burrows, under dead trees or tucked away in dense cover during the daytime. The fact that adult striped hyenas generally forage alone and are rarely seen together led people to think that this species was primarily solitary. It has since been shown that a number of adults may share and defend the same home range, which is marked by anal gland secretions pasted onto grass stems. Small groups of adult females (possibly related) often occupy the same den and rear their cubs communally, with older off-spring participating by keeping watch over the young and bringing food back to the den for them. Individuals wander widely in search of food. They are not particularly quick, running briefly at speeds of up to 31 mph (50 kph) when chasing smaller prey (such as African hares and gazelle fawns), though with little success. A number of striped hyenas sometimes gather at a carcass to feed, though they are much less common and shyer than spotted hyenas, and in general are rather timid, giving way to lions and avoiding their larger spotted relatives. They will however steal kills from leopards and cheetahs. If threatened, they erect their manes to make themselves look bigger, as well as secreting offensive anal gland secretions to deter an attack. Reproduction - The external genitalia do not show any of the extraordinary modifications seen in the spotted hyena. Striped hyena breed at all times of the year, and females usually have their first litter of cubs when they are three years old. The young are born in a burrow or in a cave with their eyes closed. They suckle for up to one year, but begin to accompany their mother foraging when they are six months old. It is not yet known if males help to raise the young. Food - Insects, reptiles, ground birds and nestlings, small mammals the size of young antelope, fruit and particularly carrion. Surplus food is sometimes stored in cover or at the sleeping den. Striped hyenas drink regularly when water is readily available but can go without for long periods during the dry season. They sometimes take livestock. Predation - Occasionally killed by lions, and shot or poisoned by man. If cornered, they will defend themselves courageously, erecting their mane to make themselves look bigger.