Strange phenomena of animals in the African savannah
A hyena, a warthog and a porcupine walk into the same den – and decide to live together.
According to a study published in the African Journal of Ecology, researchers discovered this "new phenomenon" while monitoring animal dens in a wildlife sanctuary in Kenya.
Between 2016 and 2021, researchers set up camouflage cameras outside five hyena dens in the reserve, and soon discovered that three species were inhabited in the two dens.
One cave contains seven hyenas, three warthogs and two porcupines, and the other has 11 hyenas, six warthogs and two porcupines. The animals lived together for months, sometimes entering and exiting through the same entrance just minutes apart.
The researchers say there may be separate compartments inside the dens that allow the creatures to keep a distance from each other, meaning they are more like neighbors than roommates.
Still, even with some separation distance, it's not clear why these animals in Africa — including predators and prey — choose to live so close together.
One theory is that this may be based on their "healthy awe" for each other's powerful weapons, namely their fangs, teeth and spines, and prey without such defenses may not risk being near bed-sharing with hyenas.
Interestingly, hyenas living with warthogs and porcupines did not appear to eat these species, while other hyenas at the study site did, suggesting a peculiar type of prey selection.
They also tend to be active at different times of the day, meaning they don't always stay in the cave at the same time. Hyenas and porcupines are mostly nocturnal, while warthogs are mostly diurnal, so sharing the nest can be done in a 'time sharing' way.
It's really interesting.
