Among the animals living in nature, hyenas are probably one of the least liked animals, in the eyes of people: they like to rob other predators of prey, eat themselves but let other animals hungry, is a veritable "thief"; they hunt animals in a very cruel way, unlike lions and tigers when hunting, biting the throat of their prey to make the prey die quickly, but letting the prey die after a long period of pain, not "humane"; their cries are very strange and harsh, making people listen to very "uncomfortable" ”......
Cunning, dirty, cruel, and often our impression of hyenas. In fact, not only do many people hate hyenas today, but many historical celebrities also have a bad impression of hyenas. The famous philosopher Aristotle called the hyena "an animal that very fond of decaying corpses", U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt called the hyena a "strange mixture of cowardice and extreme ferocity", and even the famous writer Hemingway had a very bad impression of hyenas. The famous movie "The Lion King", which also portrays the 3 hyenas as the very evil partners of the villain "Scar".
There is an old superstition in Tanzania, Africa: if a child is born at night and it happens that the hyena is "crying", then the child will grow up to be a thief... There are many similar superstitions.
With such a history, it is not surprising that many people today hate hyenas. In fact, with regard to hyenas, many people only stay on the surface of their understanding.
<h1>First, the classification of hyenas</h1>
Although hyenas have the word "dog" in their names, they do not belong to the canine family. Even compared to canines, they are genetically closer to cats. The hyena family is divided into two subfamily: the hyena subfamily and the coyotes subfamily. Generally when we refer to hyenas, if we do not explain, the four animals of the two subfamilies of the hyena family can be called hyenas.
<h1>1. Hyena subfamily</h1>
(1) Spotted hyenas
Spotted hyenas are the largest hyenas, mainly distributed in eastern and southern Africa, generally 1.2 to 1.8 m long and weigh 40 to 86 kg. Their fur is yellow or gray overall in color, with dark brown or black spots on their bodies. Unlike many species with larger males than females, such as lions and tigers, female spotted hyenas are about 10% larger than males.
(2) Brown hyenas
Brown hyenas are the second largest hyenas, mainly distributed in southern Africa, very rare, generally 1.3 m to 1.6 m long, weighing 34 to 72 kg. Brown hyenas have long, fluffy coats that are dark brown or black and can reach up to 30 cm long, with a fluffy tail. Brown hyenas have shorter hairs on the legs, face, and ears. There are obvious markings on the limbs, and the front legs are much longer than the back. From head to tail, the brown hyena's back resembles a sloping hillside.
(3) Striped hyenas
Striped hyenas are the third largest hyenas, generally 1 to 1.2 meters long and weigh 26 to 41 kg. Striped hyenas have striped markings on their torsos and limbs that are easily distinguishable from spotted hyenas. The striped hyena is mainly found in Asia and northern Africa, and it has been studied less.
<h1>2. Coyote subfamily</h1>
The coyotes subfamily contain only one species, the coyotes. Coyotes are the smallest hyenas, mainly distributed in eastern and southern Africa, with a body length of generally 85 cm to 105 cm and a weight of 9 to 14 kg. The coyotes are brown all over the body and have tan stripes on their trunk and limbs. Outwardly, coyotes and striped hyenas resemble each other.
In terms of diet, the 3 species of hyenas in the hyena subfamily mainly live by preying on or picking up various herbivores and carnivores, their teeth are sharp, their digestive tracts are developed, and they can eat every part of their prey, such as bones and hooves. Coyotes in the coyotes subfamily prefer to prey on various insects, such as termites. Termites can secrete some toxins, but have little effect on coyotes, which often use their tongues to lick and eat termites, and can eat nearly 30,000 in one night.
Among these 4 types of hyenas, spotted hyenas are the most frequently mentioned animals, and they are also the hyenas that have suffered the most "slander" from humans and have the worst impression in people's minds. Next, we will mainly introduce the spotted hyena.
<h1>Second, people's misunderstanding of spotted hyenas</h1>
<h1>1. Spotted hyenas are "not good at" hunting</h1>
In various documentaries, we will always see scenes of spotted hyenas robbing other predators of prey, whether it is African wild dogs, cheetahs, leopards, or super-large cats such as lions, which will become the target of the spotted hyena. Sometimes, we also see spotted hyenas roaming the grasslands, picking up carrion from various animals to eat, and dead African buffalo, rhinos, elephants, etc. can be their food. It seems that when we see more similar pictures, we will have the impression that spotted hyenas are not good at hunting.
Cheetahs gallop to catch up with antelopes, leopards easily grab their prey to trees, and lions rely on teams to hunt large prey — competitors of spotted hyenas always make us feel very good at hunting. And for hyenas, we always ignore them: spotted hyenas are not bad at hunting, but are excellent hunters, and their hunting operations are often very efficient.
Spotted hyenas have a good sense of sight and hearing, they can see prey more than ten kilometers away, they can hear the calls of their companions far away; spotted hyenas are good at running, endurance is very strong, they can maintain a speed of 50 kilometers per hour to pursue prey for a long distance; spotted hyenas are very powerful, can drag nearly 100 kg of prey for hundreds of meters (although they can't drag their prey to trees like leopards)...
In addition to their innately excellent conditions, spotted hyenas hunt in a way that makes it easier for them to catch prey: spotted hyenas can hunt alone or in groups, a spotted hyena can hunt an adult wildebeest, and a group of spotted hyenas can hunt larger prey such as African bison, rhinoceros, and hippos. The flexibility of hunting methods gives them an advantage over their competitors.
Thus, the combination of speed, strength and skill makes the spotted hyena one of the most efficient predators to hunt in the African savannah.
<h1>2. The food of the spotted hyena is mainly "snatched"</h1>
Although spotted hyenas often rob other predators of their prey, in comparison, more than half of the food they eat comes from their own hunting. We always feel that spotted hyenas rob lions of their prey more, but in fact lions rob spotted hyenas of prey more often. Back in the 1970s, zoologist Hans Crook studied the hunting and predation of lions and spotted hyenas in the Galeti savannah of Africa and found that 53% of the prey shared by lions and spotted hyenas was hunted by spotted hyenas.
The reason why we think that spotted hyenas rob lions more often has a lot to do with the fact that people generally like lions and don't like spotted hyenas: lions grabbing spotted hyena prey are always "ignored" by people, and spotted hyenas robbing lion prey are always amplified by us.
In fact, all kinds of predators living in the African savannah, in addition to lions and spotted hyenas, such as leopards, African wild dogs, etc., the phenomenon of snatching the prey of other predators is also often occurring. In order to survive, these predators will grab it whenever they have the opportunity.
<h1>3. Spotted hyenas love to "smirk"</h1>
As we all know, the bark of spotted hyenas is very peculiar, when they hunt prey or compete with lions for food, they will make a harsh sound, which always makes people feel like "smirk". Shakespeare once wrote, "I will laugh like a hyena when you tend to sleep." ”
In fact, the spotted hyena is not "giggling", but transmitting various information through sound. Spotted hyenas are social animals, and they need a variety of calls to help communicate with their members, such as the fact that they will make a call in a struggle with a lion to gather more companions, which is the most classic kind of call; they will also greet each other through the call, and make a warning sound when they feel that danger is approaching. According to research, spotted hyenas can make more than 10 different sounds, each with a different meaning. This is rare among carnivores.
<h1>5. Spotted hyenas are "stupid"</h1>
In some African myths and legends, spotted hyenas are not only annoying, they are also "stupid". On the topic of whether spotted hyenas are smart or not, zoologists have given us the answer with just one example.
Spotted hyenas are one of the most socially specific and complex carnivores, living in tight-knit clans, usually headed by a female spotted hyena, and in terms of status, from top to bottom, female leader, other females, cubs, and males. Every spotted hyena living in this social structure has to deal with the relationship with individuals of different statuses. The fact that spotted hyenas can better maintain such complex social ties is enough to show that they not only have a high "IQ", but also a higher "emotional intelligence".
As a social animal, the size of the spotted hyena colony has a lot to do with the number of prey in its habitat: in areas where prey is scarce, the number of members of the spotted hyena group is small, only about 10, and in the Maasai Mara Reserve in Kenya, their population is larger, with as many as 60 or more individuals.
<h1>6. Spotted hyenas play little role in nature</h1>
Although many people don't like spotted hyenas, there is no doubt about the important role they play in nature. By preying on other herbivores, spotted hyenas controlled herbivores, preventing herbiotheides from degrading due to excessive amounts of herbivores, which ultimately led to the collapse of entire grassland ecosystems. In this regard, spotted hyenas play a similar role to lions, leopards, cheetahs, etc. By scavenging the carcasses of various animals, spotted hyenas also play an important role in preventing the spread of disease.
<h1>Third, the current situation of spotted hyenas</h1>
When the male lion kills a spotted hyena in anger, I believe many people will clap their hands in their hearts. However, did you know that the spotted hyena is already at risk of extinction, with only about 30,000 remaining and regional extinctions in many parts of Africa? There are many reasons for the decline in the number of spotted hyenas, such as habitat loss, human hunting, being hunted by lions, poisoning by eating poisonous food, dying from vehicle impacts, the threat of diseases such as canine distemper and rabies, and so on.
Although the number of spotted hyenas is a little larger than the number of African lions, zoologists are already very worried about them, especially given the various negative perceptions of them. Many animal protection workers are already making efforts to raise the profile of spotted hyenas and several other hyenas.
Spotted hyenas are an important link in the African savannah ecosystem, playing no less than lions, and if they go extinct, they will have a devastating impact on the African savannah. #奇妙的动物 #