why do hyenas have short back legs

Truth: A hyena's hind legs are shorter than their front legs, which gives them that guilty-looking gait. Ultimately, the hyenas extraordinary success at bringing down large prey, intimidating lions and raising their cubs in a hostile environment depends on their capacity for teamwork. Although the dog-like hyenas thrived 15million years ago (with one taxon having colonised North America), they became extinct after a change in climate, along with the arrival of canids into Eurasia. Females stay with their birth clan, but the males leave upon maturity at around age three, if not sooner. When the limbs have very different gaits you end up with hoppers or so called pendulum runners like rabbits and kangaroo or they do not fully utilize the possible arc of one limb like gorilla this second one pops up when ground travel is not the primary means of locomotion. [54] Arab writer al-Qazwn (12041283) spoke of a tribe of people called al-abyn meaning "hyena people". [2] Despite their low diversity, hyenas are unique and vital components of most African ecosystems. they became racy long distance hunters that hunted alone or as clans. [54], The striped hyena is mentioned in the Bible. Aardwolves, and brown -, and striped hyenas have lined coats. They defecate in the same manner as other Carnivora, though they never raise their legs as canids do when urinating, as urination serves no territorial function for them. In the clans strict power structure, dominance passes down the alpha females line to her cubs. The modern Hebrew word for hyena is tzavoa`, which is similar to the word "tsavua`" meaning "Hypocrite". At two to six weeks of age, the mother moves the cubs to a den shared by other mothers in the same clan and their young. Striped hyena fossils are common in Africa, with records going back as far as the Villafranchian. By supporting San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, you are our ally in saving and protecting wildlife worldwide. This ancient marvel rivaled Romes intricate network of roads, For some long COVID patients, exercise is bad medicine, Radioactive dogs? The brown hyena is classified as near threatened, according to theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This made Stegosaurus quite slow, because it could not go faster than its short fron legs were capable of. [60] On rare occasions, striped hyenas have preyed on humans. [61] Some paleontologists believe that competition and predation by cave hyenas (Crocuta crocuta spelaea) in Siberia was a significant factor in delaying human colonization of Alaska. The striped hyena is 39 to 45 inches (100 to 115 cm) long and 26 to 30 in (66 to 75 cm) tall from paw to shoulder, according to the San Diego Zoo. Why Hyena Has Short Back Legs Tinga Tinga Tales Subtitles Found! But during a hunt, the hyena's impressive hunting skills come into play. [69] Spotted hyenas are widely feared in Malawi, where they have been known to attack people at night, particularly during the hot season when people sleep outside. Please be respectful of copyright. Your explanation of the different limb lenght to compensate lack of flexibility is perfdect. Furthermore, the living brown hyena and its closest extinct relatives are not included in the genus Pachycrocuta, but in the genus Parahyaena. [24] Like canids, hyenas have short, blunt, non-retractable claws. These youngsters spend much of their time in the den, which may be located underground or in a cave or a rocky crevice. It is often difficult to know whether spotted hyenas are the specific hyena species featured in such stories, particularly in West Africa, as both spotted and striped hyenas are often given the same names. Do hyenas have short front legs and long hind legs? Striped hyenas range from northern Africa to southern Siberia. Spotted hyenas are known for their "laughs," but research shows the hyena giggles are anything but light-hearted. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists striped hyenas as near-threatened by extinction. The hyenas work in a group when hunting such large prey, and young hyenas take years to become successful. This arrangement is known as a fission-fusion society, and maintaining it demands sophisticated communication skills. Their skulls superficially resemble those of large canids, but are much larger and heavier, with shorter facial portions. Why did some animals evolve inward-slanted legs? [33][34] The aardwolf has greatly reduced cheek teeth, sometimes absent in the adult, but otherwise has the same dentition as the other three species. In addition to this, their paws have four short, blunt, and non-retractable claws. when hyenas branched off from common ancestors of feliformia, they took up the role that dogs did in the Americas. Half of all spotted hyena young die before they reach maturity. .mw-parser-output table.clade{border-spacing:0;margin:0;font-size:100%;line-height:100%;border-collapse:separate;width:auto}.mw-parser-output table.clade table.clade{width:100%;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-label{min-width:0.2em;width:0.1em;padding:0 0.15em;vertical-align:bottom;text-align:center;border-left:1px solid;border-bottom:1px solid;white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-label::before,.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel::before{content:"\2060 "}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-fixed-width{overflow:hidden;text-overflow:ellipsis}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-fixed-width:hover{overflow:visible}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-label.first{border-left:none;border-right:none}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-label.reverse{border-left:none;border-right:1px solid}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel{padding:0 0.15em;vertical-align:top;text-align:center;border-left:1px solid;white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel:hover{overflow:visible}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel.last{border-left:none;border-right:none}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-slabel.reverse{border-left:none;border-right:1px solid}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-bar{vertical-align:middle;text-align:left;padding:0 0.5em;position:relative}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-bar.reverse{text-align:right;position:relative}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-leaf{border:0;padding:0;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-leafR{border:0;padding:0;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output table.clade td.clade-leaf.reverse{text-align:right}.mw-parser-output table.clade:hover span.linkA{background-color:yellow}.mw-parser-output table.clade:hover span.linkB{background-color:green}, Phylogenic relationships based on morphological characteristics, after Werdelin & Solounias (1991) and Turner et al (2008). Would you ever say "eat pig" instead of "eat pork"? On the positive side, the lack of scientific knowledge on striped hyenas, paired with their decline, has sparked an interest in the species and their ecology. The likely stimulus for this myth is the female spotted hyenas wildly unconventional genitalia, which are a near perfect facsimile of the males. Lions use this to their advantage and wait for hyenas to make a kill before using their large size to push the hyenas off the food and take it for themselves, while hyenas are left watching lions eat their hard work. Most of the dog-like hyenas had died off by 1.5million years ago. What do hyenas look like? Youd never imagine this was the strategy from observing her behavior, since female spotted hyenas are highly promiscuous. Field studies have found that lions actually steal more kills from spotted hyenas than vice versa. [59], The vocalization of the spotted hyena resembling hysterical human laughter has been alluded to in numerous works of literature: "to laugh like a hyna" was a common simile, and is featured in The Cobbler's Prophecy (1594), Webster's Duchess of Malfy (1623) and Shakespeares As You Like It, Act IV. After a gestation of around three months, female hyenas give birth to two to four young, according to ADW. Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. There are three hyena species spotted, brown, and striped. Even ostrich eggs are fair game! Like spotted hyenas, their front legs are longer than their back . But for the last 8,000 years, the spotted hyena has lived only in Africa. "Signpost" puzzle from Tatham's collection. Size and density of spots varies. The first ancestral hyenas were likely similar to the modern African civet; one of the earliest hyena species described, Plioviverrops, was a lithe, civet-like animal that inhabited Eurasia 2022million years ago, and is identifiable as a hyaenid by the structure of the middle ear and dentition. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Copyright 2018 by Lucy Cooke. A spate of hyena attacks were reported in Malawi's Phalombe plain, with five deaths recorded in 1956, five in 1957 and six in 1958. This, coupled with their shyness; nocturnal nature; and habitats, which include rocky outcroppings, dense shrublands, and wetlands, can make them difficult to see. Twin polar bear sisters reunited years after mother rejected one of them, Taxidermy birds are being turned into drones, By Morgan Bailee Boggess McCoyApril 05, 2023. They are able to chase down prey over long distances while running at up to 37 miles per hour (60 kilometers per hour). [62] Hyenas readily scavenge from human corpses; in Ethiopia, hyenas were reported to feed extensively on the corpses of victims of the 1960 attempted coup[63] and the Red Terror. We thought we knew turtles. Hyenas are very cooperative with their clan members and close relatives, she explained. [65], Although spotted hyenas have been known to prey on humans in modern times, such incidents are rare. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Spotted hyenas are one of the few mammals other than bats known to survive infection with rabies virus[49] and have showed little or no disease-induced mortality during outbreaks in sympatric carnivores. How come large herbivores have such thin legs? Whats more, the female spotted hyena is the only known mammal with no external vaginal opening. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Clans can have up to 80 members, according to the National Wildlife Foundation. It may be the opposite, maybe the front ones lengthened to raise their heads even higher than their already long necks do. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Everything you know about hyenas is wrong these animals are fierce, social and incredibly smart, spotted hyenas have one of the richest vocal repertoires, The Truth About Animals: Stoned Sloths, Lovelorn Hippos, and Other Tales from the Wild Side of Wildlife. Its only true predators are lions and humans. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), BBC: The Hyena that Made its Home in a Wolf Pack. Hunting parties are capable of bringing down aggressive animals, like water buffalo, several times their size. Wolf jumped up, landed upon it, and ate of the cloud as if it were fresh meat. They began forming increasingly larger territories, necessitated by the fact that their prey was often migratory, and long chases in a small territory would have caused them to encroach into another clan's turf. Learn about the ugliest animals on earth here. Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , haina),[1] are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae /handi/. They do not need the massive hind limbs of the large cats becasue they do not "pounce", you see the same adaptation in the so called "Fanged Cats" or saber tooth cats they have massive forelimbs. A female that is bigger and meaner has a better shot of ensuring her surviving cubs get a place at the table and dont get hurt in the process. Spotted hyenas are the largest of the three. The spotted hyenas rounded ears help distinguish it from the striped and brown hyena. Groans and squeals are used to greet each other. Poachers also kill striped hyenas for their body parts; the brain is especially prized in Morocco. The front pair of legs are longer than the back ones, and their paws have 4 toes and short claws. Most species have a rich mane of long hair running from the withers or from the head. For other uses, see, Genera of the Hyaenidae (extinct and recent), Begg, Colleen, Begg, Keith & Muemedi, Oscar (2007), female spotted hyena's external genitalia, raise their legs as canids do when urinating, "A study on use of animals as traditional medicine by Sukuma Tribe of Busega District in North-western Tanzania", "Comparative ecology and taphonomy of spotted hyenas, humans, and wolves in Pleistocene Italy", "Characterizing ecomorphological patterns in hyenids: a multivariate approach using postcanine dentition", "A new species of Tungurictis Colbert, 1939 (Carnivora, Hyaenidae) from the middle Miocene of Junggar Basin, northwestern China and the early divergence of basal hyaenids in East Asia", "Mosaic functionality in a transitional ecomorphology: skull biomechanics in stem Hyaeninae compared to modern South African carnivorans", "The Hyaenidae: taxonomy, systematics and evolution", Sketches of Indian Field Sports: With Observations on the Animals; Also an Account of Some of the Customs of the Inhabitants; with a Description of the Art of Catching Serpents, as Practiced by the Conjoors and Their Method of Curing Themselves when Bitten: with Remarks on Hydrophobia and Rabid Animals, "Bite club: comparative bite force in big biting mammals and the prediction of predatory behaviour in fossil taxa", Hyaena Specialist Group - Spotted Hyena: Diet and Foraging, "Regular exposure to rabies virus and lack of symptomatic disease in Serengeti spotted hyenas", "Socioecological predictors of immune defenses in a wild spotted hyenas", "Markedly Elevated Antibody Responses in Wild versus Captive Spotted Hyenas Show that Environmental and Ecological Factors Are Important Modulators of Immunity", "Development of a hyena immunology toolbox", "Characterization of toll-like receptors 1-10 in spotted hyenas", The Magicality of the Hyena: Beliefs and Practices in West and South Asia, "The spotted hyena from Aristotle to the Lion King: reputation is everything - In the Company of Animals", "Oldest Human Hair Found in Fossilized Dung", Preliminary data on human - carnivore conflict in Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique, particularly fatalities due to lion, spotted hyaena and crocodile, "The Fear of Wolves: A Review of Wolf Attacks on Humans", "Islamists authorise hyena meat in Southern Somalia", IUCN Conservation Union Hyaena Specialist Group, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hyena&oldid=1149509763, Articles with dead external links from May 2016, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from April 2023, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2023, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The four living species of hyena, clockwise from upper left: spotted hyena (, Civet/mongoose-like insectivore-omnivores, This page was last edited on 12 April 2023, at 17:50. Everyone in the family group, which may include previous offspring and a couple of adults, takes care of the young. Large anal glands above the anus open into this pouch. I think their reputation for being stupid has a lot to do with their gait, she told me. Also, unlike other hyenas, the female spotted hyena's external genitalia closely resembles that of the male. [46] The spotted hyena, though it also scavenges occasionally, is an active pack hunter of medium to large sized ungulates, which it catches by wearing them down in long chases and dismembering them in a canid-like manner. Aardwolves resemble striped hyenas, with similar fur texture and color. It isn't a laugh at all, though. It is likely that its unrivaled ability to digest the terpene excretions from soldier termites is a modification of the strong digestive system its ancestors used to consume fetid carrion. Individuals of the species have downward sloping spines, stubby hind legs, and longer front legs. STDs are at a shocking high. During estrus, a female will mate frequently with multiple males, and after three months, shell give birth to a litter of between one to six cubs. [64] Hyenas habituated to scavenging on human corpses may develop bold behaviors towards living people: hyena attacks on people in southern Sudan increased during the Second Sudanese Civil War, when human corpses were readily available to them. A hyena can eat quite a bit at one time. Bones that show cut marks from early stone tools mixed with tooth marks of hyenas suggest hyenas were laughing at humans and stealing our dinner for as much as 2.5 million years. [13] The percrocutids are, in contrast to McKenna and Bell's classification, not included as a subfamily into the Hyaenidae, but as the separate family Percrocutidae (though they are generally grouped as sister-taxa to hyenas[14]). Yet some humans shoot hyenas on the spot just because of what they are. Shes spent over thirty years studying Crocuta in the wild, painting a fresh portrait of these miscast creatures and earning a reputation as the Jane Goodall of hyenas. Baynes-Rock thinks the hyenas bone-crunching bite could even be the reason for the sparse evidence of early human evolution. Non-related males and females will mate after a courtship that can last several days. Part boulder, part myth, part treasure, one of Europes most enigmatic artifacts will return to the global stage May 6. [48] Both places have been interpreted by some scholars as being the Biblical Valley of Tsebo`im mentioned in 1 Samuel 13:18. [38] Spotted hyena cubs are born almost fully developed, with their eyes open and erupting incisors and canines, though lacking adult markings. The bigger the hyena clan, the larger its prey. The forelegs are high, while the hind legs are very short and their necks are thick and short. Sc.1. Striped hyenas have long hair that is gray to straw-colored. [26] Labiolingually, their mandibles are much stronger at the canine teeth than in canids, reflecting the fact that hyenas crack bones with both their anterior dentition and premolars, unlike canids, which do so with their post-carnassial molars. Such tactics are not for the faint-hearted, yet somehow hyenas have an enduring reputation for being a bunch of wimps. She has multiple health, safety and lifesaving certifications from Oklahoma State University. Sometimes, leftovers are buried in a mud hole for a later meal. Spotted hyenas can trot at 6 miles (10 kilometers) per hour without getting tired for long distances. The aardwolf can trace its lineage directly back to Plioviverrops 15million years ago, and is the only survivor of the dog-like hyena lineage. The size of the meal often is determined by how large the hyena's clan is. The idea that hyenas spend their time sneaking about and stealing the spoils from more noble animals like the lion is another misconception. However, the brown and striped hyenas and aardwolves have male-dominated clans. Both humans and hyenas are highly intelligent social predators with origins on the African savannah, he explained to me. Their claws, which are used for defense and digging, are non-retractable, and their tongues are rough. It was a tough watch. They are known to take advantage of other animals' kills for easy meals, but they aren't just scavengers. The idea that hyenas are cowards has persisted well into the modern age. Why do hyenas have hunched backs? Brown hyenas have a very limited range and live only in Southern Africa, including the Kalahari and Namib deserts. The canines are short, but thick and robust. rev2023.4.21.43403. Mothers in a clan will share the responsibility of nursing each other's young and other members of the can may bring food to the den for the cubs. However, unlike other feliforms, they do not "wash" their faces. In 1942, a sleeping guard was mauled in his hut by a hyena in Qalncaq (Golyndzhakh). Photograph by JOEL SARTORE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTO ARK. Though the species has a vast range, including sub-Saharan and northwestern Africa, India, and Turkey, their populations are sparse. Spotted hyenas are known as "laughing hyenas" because they have a distinctive call that sounds like human laughter. Here are some facts to clear up these misconceptions. Spotted hyenas have amatriarchal society. They make a wide range of sounds including that famous giggle (actually a sign of submission), but the whoop a quintessential sound of the savannah is their signature call. Isolated populations, scattered across their wide range, are vulnerable to local extinction. Both hyenas and lions mark and establish territories, and bothspeciesare always on guard. Only one ancient account mentions the existence of Xerxes Canal, long thought to be a tall tale. In any case, this trait is not seen in any other cursorial animal (that I know), asymmetry is not a good Ally in the long run. Its a frantic, frenzied and, at times, frightening scene. The scavengers were long thought to be mostly solitary, but recent research has shown these animals form small groups of up to seven animalsin areas with abundant food or water. Some are even shot as target practice. [44] Hyenas do not regurgitate food for their young and male spotted hyenas play no part in raising their cubs,[38] though male striped hyenas do so.[45]. Matting typically happens outside of the clan. The attacks provoked local authorities into announcing a reward of 100 rubles for every hyena killed. Lower-ranking males are forced to stay on the outskirts of the clan and are only allowed to join during a hunt or a fight against another clan or lions. The "whoop" is a call heard for miles and is used to find cubs, advertise territory, or bring the clan together. 3) The spotted hyena's body can grow to almost 2m long, plus a dark, bushy tail measuring 25-30cm long. He lumped the hyena, somewhat incongruously, in with the hare, the deer, the mouse, along with all other animals that are either manifestly timorous, or that betray their cowardice by their spitefulness for having a disproportionately large heart. Suzi Eszterhas. They are often vilified and misrepresented as foolish and treacherous, even downright vicious and evil. To save chestnut trees, we may have to play God, Why you should add native plants to your garden, What you can do right now to advocate for the planet, Why poison ivy is an unlikely climate change winner. Spotted hyenas are unlike all other mammals in that the females are significantly bigger than the males and much more aggressive. [43] In contrast, striped hyena cubs are born with adult markings, closed eyes and small ears. While spotted hyenas are not threatened at the moment, things could change. The spotted hyena may look unusual, at first sight. Hyenas have shorter hind legs, giving their backs that sloped appearance. The average litter has two cubs, and thecompetitionbetween them starts right away. [39] Hyenas are primarily nocturnal animals, but sometimes venture from their lairs in the early-morning hours. They make this sound when they are excited, but nervous, or when they are submitting to another hyena. Most other predators couldnt eat those things, even if they tried. Spotted hyenas have a little bit larger range and live south of the Sahara Desert. This laugh is used during times of nervous excitement or submission to a dominant hyena. They fight over who will be the dominant one and nurse first, sometimes killing their weaker sibling. A recent study by Holekamp has shown that the more powerful the female, the more testosterone her fetuses are exposed to during the final stage of pregnancy. It isn't a laugh at all, though. Hyenas are very social and live in groups called clans. They aren't even related to dogs. Hyenas have long forelegs and a powerful neck and shoulders for dismembering and carrying prey. Excerpted from the new paperback The Truth About Animals: Stoned Sloths, Lovelorn Hippos, and Other Tales from the Wild Side of Wildlife by Lucy Cooke, with the permission of Basic Books, an imprint of Perseus Books LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group. Hyenas have no baculum. At about two months of age, the cub starts to lose its brown coat and begins to look like the spotted adults. I am convinced we can rule out all the hypotheses that have been forwarded in the literature to date: it is definitely not merely a side-effect of female androgen exposure, and it is not there to permit greeting behaviors, she said. [68] Victims of spotted hyenas tend to be women, children and sick or infirm men: Theodore Roosevelt wrote in 19081909 in Uganda that spotted hyenas regularly killed sufferers of African sleeping sickness as they slept outside in camps. But while modern science has identified more than 65,000 known cross-sexual species, the hyena is not one of them. It only takes a minute to sign up. Their muzzle is black, and there are black stripes on the head, torso and legs. Recent research has revealed more about striped hyenas, for instance that their social structures are much more complex than thought. A camera trap captures a striped hyena moving through Iran's Kavir National Park. Spotted hyenas can run up to 37 mph (60 km/h). This adaptation makes them great endurance runners, and accomplished hunters. If ever an animal needed rebranding, it's the hyenaa strong, smart animal that's often misunderstood. Why are there no known animals with an odd number of legs? [6], Hyenas originated in the jungles of Miocene Eurasia 22million years ago, when most early feliform species were still largely arboreal. Their gold or brownish gray fur is lined with black stripes that camouflages them in the tall grass, and a bushy mane that stretches from neck to taillike a full-body mohawkmakes them look more intimidatingto rivals. New York, Smithsonian Magazine: Whos Laughing Now? Short story about swapping bodies as a job; the person who hires the main character misuses his body. Why is it shorter than a normal address? Paul A. Racey and Jennifer D. Skinner, authors of a paper on sexual mimicry in the spotted hyena, declared the appearance of males and females so close that sex could only be determined with certainty by palpation of the scrotum.. He said, Most hominid remains are just teeth and jawbones. They also have legs that are striped white and brown. It was hard not to anthropomorphize the actors before me: the zebra seemingly dignified in the face of death, the hyenas cruel and cowardly. Unlike most modern hyena species, which are specialised bone-crushers, these dog-like hyenas were nimble-bodied, wolfish animals; one species among them was Ictitherium viverrinum, which was similar to a jackal. There are two distinct populations of aardwolves. In Tanzania, there is a belief that witches use spotted hyenas as mounts. The young continue to nurse until about one to two years old. This last eye-watering feat is like squeezing a cantalope out of a hosepipe, and 10 percent of first-time hyena mothers die in the process. Their tails add another 12 to 16 in (30 to 40 cm) and they weigh from 57 to 90 lbs. At around 2 years, the cubs are considered mature and ready to leave their mother. hyena, (family Hyaenidae), also spelled hyaena, any of three species of coarse-furred, doglike carnivores found in Asia and Africa and noted for their scavenging habits. Recent fieldwork suggests that the social structures of the spotted hyena are every bit as complex as those of baboons, and CT scans have confirmed that hyena brains have evolved in a similar frontal direction to primates, with the region involved in complex decision-making enlarged. They would not have been able to fight off a pack of hungry hyenas to protect their prize meal; a theory borne out by bones from the period that show cut marks from early stone tools mixed with tooth marks of hyenas, suggesting that hyenas were laughing at us and stealing our dinner for as much as 2.5 million years. [54] In East Africa, Tabwa mythology portrays the spotted hyena as a solar animal that first brought the sun to warm the cold earth, while West African folklore generally shows the hyena as symbolizing immorality, dirty habits, the reversal of normal activities, and other negative traits. Well you see sometimes naughty animals have to be taught a lesson. There are four species in the hyena family, and they vary in size. The spotted hyena's paws have four toes with non-retractable claws. Biology Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for biology researchers, academics, and students. They make this sound when they are. Scientists presumed that this superfluity of prenatal testosterone also caused the disproportionate growth of the female hyenas clitoris. Every hyena clan is a matriarchy ruled by an alpha female. Ground birds, rabbits, springhare, bat-eared foxes, porcupines, jackals, and fish can be on the menu. Brown hyenas are four-legged animals with straight, coarse fur and large pointed ears, and short tails. Photograph by Frans Lanting, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION. [9] Its direct ancestor was the Indian Crocuta sivalensis, which lived during the Villafranchian. Spotted hyenas evolved sharp carnassials behind their crushing premolars, therefore they did not need to wait for their prey to die, and thus became pack hunters as well as scavengers.

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