Skip to main content

Spotted Hyena

Crocuta crocuta are the largest of the living species of Hyena, all of which are found within the family Hyaenidae, which itself is part of the suborder Feliforma. That all means that despite their doggish looks and pack behavior, Hyenas are actually more closely related to cats! 

Image Source
Spotted Hyenas live all across Africa south of the Sahara. As mentioned, they live in large packs, sometimes numbering up to 80 members, which are led by the females. They are large, muscular hunters, capable of weighing over 175lbs. Interestingly, the males and females are extremely difficult to distinguish from one another, as they have similar looking external reproductive organs. The species is also sexually dimorphic, with the females being larger than the males.

They are exceptional hunters, working in groups to take down prey that includes gazelle, buffalo, and wildebeast. They are also extremely opportunistic feeders, which can cause problems when they live in close vicinity to humans. Spotted Hyenas, like all Hyenas, have a dentition that allows them to crack bones. Spotted Hyenas also have the strongest jaws among all animals, which assists greatly in their bone breaking ability. They can consume and digest their entire kill. There is a myth that Hyenas are scavengers, and while they will do so on occasion, around 95% of the diets consist of food that they have killed themselves.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Burmese Peacock

Polyplectron bicalcaratum Burmese Peacocks are also referred to as Grey Peacock-Pheasants, which is probably a more apt name, as they are not actually Peacocks... though they do belong to the same family. At any rate, they share some physical resemblances to Peacocks- most notably the eyes on their tail feathers. Burmese Peacocks are the national birds of Myanmar, which was called Burma until 1989, though some still refer to it as such. The birds live in several other Southeast Asian countries as well, and are divided into four subspecies. The species as a whole is listed as being of Least Concern , because they have a large range and population size. It unfortunately appears that they may be declining in number, but it is a slow descent that does not yet meet the vulnerability thresholds. The birds are listed under CITES Appendix II, because they can be kept in captivity and grabbing individuals from the wild could become problematic for the species. IUCN Stat...
3 comments
Read more

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more