Habits
The spotted hyena lives in pack os 12 to 100 animals. Females are larger than males, and the most dominant female heads the pack. Hierarchy in the pack is maintained though body postures. A weak animal may cralw on its belly or sniff and lick another hyena's genital region. Espeically during the mating season, there may be outright aggression leading to the death of the weaker animal. The spotted hyena's teamwork in hunting and sharing food enables it to adapt to varied habitats and prey.
Food & Hunting
The spotted hyena is most active at dusk or night. It may hunt alone but kills more efficiently in a pack. A hyena pack can outrun and bring down zebras or gnus, even those these animals can reach speeds of 25 miles per hour. The hyena seizes its prey by the legs and flank and hangs on until the victim has been brought to its knees. It then tears open the soft underparts. The pack takes about 10 minutes to kill a large animal. Their howls may attract lions or other big cats, but the cats are unable to steal the kill. In fact a hyena pack can force a lion to abadon its own catch. No food is wasted. What cannot be eaten immediately is buried, and the hyena remembers its location.
Special Adaptations
The spotted hyena communicates with others using a series of calls, some of which are too high for humans to hear. Other calls include the well-known laugh, wich can carry over several miles. The hyena also communicates by leaving its scent, using a creamy paste from an anal pouch. It deposits the paste on plants at the edges of its territory to signal other hyenas not to approach. At close range it also emits the paste as a sign of aggression. The spotted hyena has very powerful jaws that can crunch large bones. It can even eat tusks and horns. This ability is key for hyenas that scavage from the kills of lions and other big cats.
Did you know?
The spotted hyena coughs up undigested waste such as horns in pellet form.
A single hyena is capable of chasing and killing prey three times its own weight.
People once thought every hyena was both male and female because male and female genital organs look alike.
The hyena howls toward the ground, while wolves and dogs point their noses toward the sky.
The hyena resembles a dog by it more closely related to a mongoose.
Sizes
Length: Head and body, up to 5.5 feet. Tail, about 1 foot. Female larger than male.
Weight: 130 - 175 pounds.
Height: 2.5 - 3 feet at shoulder.
Distribution
Found in open grassland in Africa south of the Sahara, excluding southern South Africa and the Congo basin.
Lifestyle
Habit: Lives mostly in groups.
Call: Varied squeals and howls, including well-known "laugh." Some sounds inaudible to humans.
Lifespan: Up to 25 years.
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