Where does the hyena live in what zone? Hyenas - interesting facts

Hyena- a wild mammal belonging to the cat family predatory species. How hyena lives in nature and where does it live? What does it eat and how does it hunt? Today we will answer these questions, and start with the characteristics.

Description of the hyena

In ancient Greek, hyena meant boar and pig, probably because of its unpleasant smell and hairy back. At least hyena and belongs to the cat-like species, its size is impressive! This is a large animal, growing 190 cm in length and weighing about 80 kg. The body of the predator is large, muscular, with a wide chest, but narrowed towards the sacrum. The body is covered with very shaggy and coarse hair, the undercoat is practically absent. Most of the hair is found on the mane and back. As you know, hyena most often they are colored with peculiar spots or stripes all over the body, but there is coloration only on the paws, and the tail of the predator is short and barely noticeable. The coat color is gray-brown or yellow-gray.

The animal's head is massive with a short muzzle, an elongated nose, and almond-shaped eyes. But the ears of individuals differ, in some they are long, pointed and triangular, while in others, the ears are small and round. By the way, precisely thanks to its powerful jaws, hyena capable of crushing bones, even the thickest ones, because this animal has teeth unusual shape, and the structure of the skull is different from other predators. The forelimbs are much longer than the hind limbs; moreover, the hind limbs are curved and look much weaker, which is why the predator’s back is sloping. Almost all species have 4 toes with strong nails on their paws (except for the aardwolf).

Hyenas They communicate with each other using unusual sounds, reminiscent of squealing, growling or laughter, but only spotted hyenas are characterized by laughter. A hyena lifespan on average 12-15 years, but in a zoo, a wild animal can double its life to 24 years.

Types of hyenas

Hyenas are divided into 3 types:

1. Brown and striped hyenas– The striped hyena is quite large, up to 1.5 meters long and weighing about 60 kg. The brown hyena is 1.25 m long and weighs about 40 kg (this hyena has the longest hair, which grows from the back and hangs down to the paws.)

2. Spotted hyenas can reach a length including tail of 1.6 m, and some individuals are almost 1.9 meters, with a weight of 44 to 82 kg.

3. Aardwolf has a body length of only 55-110 cm, and a weight of 8-14 kg.

WHERE DOES THE HYENA LIVE AND WHAT DOES IT EAT?

What does a hyena eat in the wild?

Scientists have proven that hyenas don't eat exclusively carrion, they are excellent hunters, and in 90% of cases, having chosen prey, they do not leave with empty paws. Of course, they wouldn’t mind taking prey from lions, but lions do the same thing. Spotted hyenas they drive prey in a flock, accelerating at a speed of 65 km/h, but striped and brown They hunt alone, which is why they feed on small animals. Just as often spotted hyenas they take food from leopards and cheetahs, attacking one animal in a flock. They themselves hunt both small and large animals, such as zebras, giraffes, antelopes, turtles, birds, elephant calves, sheep, buffaloes, but in times of hunger they are able to feed on carrion. All hyenas, except aardwolves, eat and plant foods - watermelons, nuts, melons, pumpkin fruits. Earthwolf prefers termites, insect larvae, carrion beetles, bird eggs and chicks, small rodents, and birds.

Where does the hyena live?

Habitat of hyenas depends on the type. For example, aardwolf lives in Eastern, Northeastern and West Africa except Tanzania and Zambia. Predators settle in open sandy plains or in thickets of bushes, where they go out to hunt at dusk.

Brown hyenas live also in Africa, in the Zambezi along the Indian and Atlantic Ocean, in Tanzania, in Zimbabwe, in Namibia, Somalia, in Botswana. They live in desert or semi-desert places, in savannas, in coastal areas, in forests, going out to hunt at dusk.

Striped hyenas are found V North Africa, in Turkey, in Pakistan, in Uzbekistan, in Armenia, in Azerbaijan, in India, in the south of the Sahara, in the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. They go out hunting at night, and during the day they live in burrows, crevices and caves.

Spotted hyenas live in South and East Africa, in Kenya, Sudan, Namibia, Somalia, Tanzania, Botswana, they settle in savannas at high elevations.

VIDEO: ABOUT HYENAS

IN THIS VIDEO, YOU CAN SEE A DOCUMENTARY AND LEARN A LOT OF INTERESTING ABOUT THE LIFE OF A HYENA IN NATURE

People have always disliked hyenas, considering them ugly, cowardly and sinister creatures. However, these accusations are unfair. In fact, hyenas are extremely interesting and intelligent animals with an amazing social organization.

Hyenas (Huaenidae) are a family of mammalian predators. They are widespread in semi-deserts, steppes and savannas of Africa, Arabia, India and Western Asia.

The family unites only 4 species of hyenas in 4 genera. Let's get to know them better.

Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)

This species is found in North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and bordering Asian regions.

The striped hyena's fur is long and ranges from light gray to beige in color. There are from 5 to 9 vertical stripes on the body, and a black spot on the throat.

Brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea)

The brown (coastal) hyena is common in South Africa and in Southern Angola. Most often it can be found along the western coast of Namibia. Inhabits semi-deserts and open savannas. Avoids the places where its fellow spotted hyenas hunt, since the latter are much larger and stronger.

The wool is shaggy, black brown, while the neck and shoulders are lighter. There are white horizontal stripes on the limbs.

Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

Found in sub-Saharan Africa, except in the rain forests of the Congo Basin and the extreme south.

The coat is short, sandy, red or brown. On the back, sides, sacrum and limbs there are dark spots.

In this species, the external genitalia of males and females are difficult to distinguish, hence the myth that these animals are hermaphrodites.

Aardwolf (Proteles cristatus)

The aardwolf, classified as a hyena, lives in Southern and Eastern Africa.

It feeds exclusively on insects, licking them from the ground with a long, wide tongue. More information about this type can be found in the article.

External features

Externally, hyenas resemble dogs with big head and a powerful body. Distinctive features are long forelimbs, relatively long neck and a sagging back.

The body length of animals, depending on the species, is 0.9-1.8 meters, weight - 8-60 kg. The smallest species is the aardwolf, the largest is the spotted hyena.

The structure of the body speaks volumes about its adaptability to feeding on carrion. The front part of the body is more powerful than the back, which is why the hyena has a characteristic sloping back. With its elongated forelimbs the animal presses the carcass tightly to the ground. Strong jaws and teeth, as well as powerful chewing and neck muscles help the animal cut meat and crush bones like pruners, extracting nutritious marrow from them.

Lifestyle

Hyenas are active mainly at dusk and at night. Very strong jaws and teeth, an efficient digestive system and the ability to travel long distances all make hyenas successful scavengers.

Food and hunting

Carcasses of dead animals form the basis of the diet of brown and striped hyenas. They supplement their menu with invertebrates, wild fruits, eggs and occasionally small animals that they manage to kill.

Spotted hyenas are not only effective scavengers, but also good hunters. They are capable of chasing prey at a speed of 60 km/h, covering a distance of up to 3 km. They usually hunt young large antelopes (oryx, wildebeest). They can cope with an adult zebra, and often with a buffalo.

Spotted hyenas often hide food in silty ponds. If they are hungry, they return to their hiding places.

Hyenas have an unusually well-developed sense of smell: they can smell the smell of decaying meat located several kilometers away from them.

In terms of nutrition, aardwolves are radically different from their relatives. Their diet mainly consists of termites and insect larvae.

It is interesting that termites try to defend themselves by spraying a burning substance, but there is no control over the aardwolf. His bare nose is so dense that insects cannot bite through it.

Brown hyenas prefer to hunt alone; their spotted relatives often form groups.

Since carrion is easy to find by smell, brown hyenas do not need to search for food together. In addition, the amount of food they obtain is usually only enough for one individual, so collective search for food would lead to competition between individuals.

The collective hunting strategy of spotted hyenas can be explained by the greater likelihood of success when group members combine their efforts. In addition, the large prey that they can obtain together allows them to feed many animals at the same time.

In the photo: spotted hyenas gathered near the carcass of an antelope. Group eating is often accompanied by very loud noise, but rarely by serious contractions. Each animal can eat up to 15 kg of meat in one sitting!

Family life

All types of hyenas, except the aardwolf, live in groups (clans). Clan members occupy common territory and together protect it from its neighbors.

In the spotted hyena clan, females dominate, and even the highest-ranking males are subordinate to the lowest-ranking females. Males leave their native clan when they are on the threshold of maturity. They are adjacent to new group and gradually rise up the hierarchical ladder to gain the right to participate in reproduction. Females tend to remain in the maternal clan and inherit their mother's rank.

Brown hyenas have clans built somewhat differently. Some males and females leave their native group V adolescence, others remain in it for a long time, sometimes for life. Males who left family of origin, join another clan or lead a wandering lifestyle.

The sizes of clans vary as different types, and within the same species, depending on environmental conditions. Spotted hyenas usually have the largest families: they sometimes number more than 80 individuals.

In brown hyenas, the clan can consist only of a female and her cubs of the last litter.

The size of the territory occupied by a clan also varies significantly, but it is usually determined by the abundance of food resources. For example, in the Ngorongoro Crater, the population density of wildebeest and zebra allows a large clan to exist in a small area. And in arid climate In the Kalahari, where hyenas often have to cover a distance of 50 km in search of prey, the territory occupied by the group is much larger.

Communication

The social systems of hyenas are extremely complex.

First, animals have an effective system for communicating over distance using smells. Distinctive feature of all hyenas is the presence of an anal sac, which they use for unique look scent marking. It's called "smearing". Striped and spotted hyenas produce a thick sticky secretion of one type; their brown relatives produce a thick white secretion and a secretion in the form of a black sticky mass. The animal touches the grass stem with its anal gland and runs it along the stem, moving forward, leaving a mark. There can be up to 15 thousand marked points in one area, so that trespassers immediately understand that the owner is in place.

Secondly, hyenas demonstrate elaborate greeting ceremonies. During such a ritual, the fur on the back of brown and striped species stands on end, and the animals sniff each other’s head, body and anal sac. Then a ritual fight occurs, during which the dominant individual often bites, holds and shakes the neck and throat of the animal occupying a subordinate position. Among spotted hyenas, the ceremony involves mutual sniffing and licking of the genital area.

What sounds do hyenas make?

Hyenas hoot, make high-pitched screams and strange giggling-like sounds. Signals perceived by humans as hooting are transmitted over several kilometers. With their help, hyenas communicate over long distances. Animals repeat such signals several times, which helps to establish their location, and the signal of each individual has individual characteristics.

Some acoustic signals emitted by hyenas can only be heard by humans with the help of an amplifier and headphones.

Procreation and raising offspring

There is no specific breeding season for hyenas. Females do not mate with related males, which avoids degeneration. Numerous males wander alone through deserts and savannas. Having met a female during her short estrus, the male fertilizes her, and she returns to her family. Pregnancy lasts approximately 90 days, after which 1 to 5 cubs are born.

Unlike others carnivorous mammals, in spotted hyenas, cubs are born sighted and with teeth already erupted. Babies of the same litter are involved in aggressive interactions almost from birth, as a result, a clear hierarchy quickly develops between them, and this allows the dominant cub to control access to mother's milk. Sometimes aggression leads to the death of its weaker brother.

Hyenas of all species keep their young in shelters, which are a system of underground burrows. Here young individuals can stay for up to 18 months. Females of the same clan usually keep their young in a large common burrow.

Different types of hyenas raise their children differently. Spotted animals begin to feed them meat only from the age of nine months, when the younger generation is already able to accompany their mother on the hunt. Until this point, they are completely dependent on their mother's milk.

Brown hyenas also feed their offspring with milk for more than a year, but from three months on, the cubs’ diet is supplemented by food brought to the shelter by their parents and other members of the clan.

The photo shows a spotted hyena with a cub.

All members of the family unit take part in raising the younger generation.

Hyena and man

There are no endangered hyena species, but several populations are threatened. And the reason for this is human persecution caused by prejudice and negative attitudes towards these animals. In North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, striped hyenas are considered grave desecrators. People's disgust towards them reaches such an extent that they are poisoned and caught in traps.

The fact that hyenas eat carrion also repels people from them. However, do not forget that brown and striped hyenas actually represent a natural waste recycling system.

The fate of brown hyenas is not as sad as that of striped ones, since in the southern part of their African habitat farmers are gradually changing their attitude towards them. This species is also protected in a number of nature reserves and national parks.

The spotted hyena most often comes into conflict with the local population, as it attacks livestock. The status of this species is determined by the IUCN as “Low Threat: Needs Protection.” However, this species is quite common in many large national parks and in other protected areas in Eastern and Southern Africa.

The status of other species is “low threat level: not of concern.”

Hyenas- This is a small order of predatory mammals, there are 4 species in it: brown, spotted and striped hyenas, as well as an aardwolf.
Outwardly, hyenas resemble dogs; they were once even considered their relatives. The body length of these animals is from 50cm to 1.5 meters, weight from 10 to 80kg. They have a large head and a wide mouth with jaws that create enormous pressure. Short hind legs, unlike the front ones, create the appearance of constant squats when moving. Strong paws with blunt claws, short and shaggy tail. And with their tail they show their social status: raised up means high, but if lowered, it means low. The spotted hyena has short hair, while others have long hair. Hyenas also have a rather specific bad smell.
Their coloring is also different: the color of the striped hyena can vary from light to gray-brown, with black stripes, the spotted hyena is brownish-yellow with black spots, the aardwolf and the brown hyena are of the same color brown.

Male hyenas are smaller than females. Hyenas are also the most caring mothers among predators; they feed their cubs with milk for up to 20 months. Hyena pregnancy lasts about 100 days and 1-3 cubs are born. Cubs are born with with open eyes, single-colored - black and live in a den, which their mother independently arranges, until 1 year, and then they go hunting with their mother.

It is the females that dominate in packs of hyenas and it is they who decide from whom they will have offspring, and they choose those who are higher in status. And the one who is lower in status has to wait months or even years for the female’s favor, but if he does receive it, his importance in the pack will also increase. When a female walks past a male, the male lowers his head and ears, as if bowing to her.

All species are found in Africa, but the striped one can also be found in Asia. They choose open areas (steppes, etc.) as their habitat.
Only brown and spotted hyenas live in packs (6-100 individuals), while striped and aardwolves choose solitude. In their packs there is a clear hierarchy, where everyone has their own position, females have the most high status than males. An experienced female rules the pack. They contact each other using a variety of sounds, not very pleasant, a combination of howling, roaring and laughter. They prefer to hunt at night, but spotted hyenas are also active during the day.
Hyenas are very impudent, but at the same time very cowardly. Everyone thinks that they are scavengers, but this is also not entirely true. They hunt in packs and eat carrion only in times of famine. Moreover, if any of the animals tries to take their prey from them, they will all fight back together. Spotted hyenas are one of the the strongest predators Africa, they are capable of reaching speeds of up to 61 km/h. In a pack they are able to cope with such large animals as: zebra, giraffe, antelope, buffalo, but also, on occasion, they can kill a lion if it is young (inexperienced), wounded or old. Another bad quality of hyenas is that during the feeding period they do not kill their prey, but eat it alive.

Family of mammals of the order Carnivora. 4 species, in Africa, Western, Middle and Southwestern Africa. Asia. 1 species striped hyena (body length approx. 1 m, tail approx. 30 cm) in Transcaucasia and Middle. Asia. The number is declining due to the decrease in wild ungulates,... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Hyenas- form a special family (Nauaeuidae), an order of carnivorous mammals. Characteristic signs they are made up of: a short, thick Head with a short, thick or pointed snout; The hind legs are shorter than the front ones, which is why the back is sloping, from... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

hyenas- a family of mammals from the order Carnivora. 4 species, in Africa, Western, Central and South-West Asia. 1 species striped hyena (body length about 1 m, tail about 30 cm), in Transcaucasia and Central Asia. The number is declining due to the decrease in wild... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary

Hyenas- form a special family (Hyaenidae), an order of predatory mammals. Their characteristic features are: a short, thick head with a short, thick or pointed snout; their hind legs are shorter... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

hyenas- hieniniai statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas šeima apibrėžtis Šeimoje 3 gentys. Kūno masė – 10 80 kg, kūno ilgis – 55 165 cm. atitikmenys: lot. Hyaenidae English hyenas; strand wolves vok. Hyänen rus. hyenas; hyenas pranc... ... Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

Hyenas- (Hyaenidae) family of predatory mammals. In appearance they are somewhat reminiscent of dogs: the body is short, higher in front than in the back, the neck is thick, the head is massive with long (up to 13 cm) erect ears; large teeth; on paws four... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Hyenas- pl. A family of predatory mammals that resemble dogs in appearance. Ephraim's explanatory dictionary. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern explanatory dictionary Russian language Efremova

HYENAS- family of mammals neg. predatory. 4 species, in Africa, Western, Middle and Southwestern Africa. Asia. 1 species of striped G. (body length approx. 1 m, tail approx. 30 cm), in Transcaucasia and Middle. Asia. Number is declining due to the decrease in wild ungulates, corpses to ryh G.... ... Natural science. Encyclopedic Dictionary

STRIPED HYENAS- (Hyaena), a genus of hyenas. Dl. body 91-120 cm, tail approx. 30 cm. Gray color with dark transverse stripes. The mane is well developed. 2 species: striped hyena (N. hyaena) and brown hyena (N. brunnea). They live throughout almost all of Africa, in Western, Middle. and M.... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

spotted hyenas- dėmėtosios hienos statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas gentis apibrėžtis Gentyje 1 rūšis. Paplitimo arealas – Africa. atitikmenys: lot. Crocuta eng. laughing hyenas; spotted hyenas vok. Tüpfelhyänen rus. spotted hyenas pranc.… … Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

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The heroine of our article today can hardly be called a charming animal. For many, the striped hyena evokes unpleasant associations. This is due to both the appearance of the animal and the way it obtains food. But not everyone knows that the striped hyena is included in the Red Book as an animal whose numbers are sharply declining.

In this article we will tell you what hyenas really are, what features they have and how they differ from other fanged animals.

Distribution of the striped hyena

This is a bright representative of the small family of hyenas. The only species from the family that is found outside of Africa. Distributed in North Africa, Asia starting from Mediterranean Sea to the Bay of Bengal. It is believed that the striped hyena in Asia is a competitor to the tiger in the fight for the main resource - meat. It is found in Central and North-West India; to the south the population decreases and is practically absent in Ceylon, as well as in countries to the east.

In sub-Saharan Africa, such a hyena is also found, but to the south of the region the number of animals is declining. It inhabits eastern and southern Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Nepal, Afghanistan, the Arabian Peninsula, reaching Dzungaria and Tibet. Northern regions its habitats are the Kopet Dag Mountains (Turkmenistan) and the foothills of the Greater Caucasus. The striped hyena of the Caucasus in Russia is occasionally found only in the southern reaches of Dagestan. However, she does not live there permanently, but only sometimes crosses the Terek from Azerbaijan.

External features

The description of the striped hyena, which can be found in many publications for animal lovers, indicates that it is a large, long-haired animal with a short body, slightly curved and strong limbs. The hind legs are more powerful and short. The tail is shaggy and shortened. The coat is sparse, hard and rough.

The head is massive and rather wide, the muzzle is slightly elongated, the ears are large, slightly pointed at the ends. Striped hyenas have the most powerful jaws among mammals - their pressure is up to fifty kilograms per square centimeter.

On the hyena's back there is a vertical, darker ridge, which consists of bristly long hair. In case of danger, it rises on its mane and at the same time the predator seems significantly taller than its height.

Color

The striped hyena can have different colors: from gray to straw or from brown-gray to dirty yellow. Dark and sometimes black stripes are clearly visible on the head, legs and torso. Sometimes they are replaced by dark spots. The lower part of the neck and throat are black. On the muzzle the “mask” is almost black.

Dimensions and weight

The average length of an adult individual from head to tail is one hundred and twenty centimeters. The tail is thirty-five centimeters long, height is about ninety centimeters, weight ranges from twenty-five to forty-five kilograms. It is interesting that these animals practically do not differ by gender either in height or length, although males can be a little heavier. Under natural conditions, the striped hyena lives no more than 12 years, and in zoos - up to 25 years.

Voice

Vocal communication is practically undeveloped, as a rule, it consists of barely audible roars and a few other sounds that hyenas make during clashes with fellow tribesmen. The loudest sound produced by this animal, which can be heard quite rarely, is a “cackling” howl. The predator makes the same sounds when excited.

Habitat

The striped hyena prefers clay deserts, but is often found in rocky foothills. It inhabits the most barren lands, often covered with thorny bushes. The hyena is found among rocky hills and gorges, as well as in open savannas with dense grass. Tries not to settle in deserts, needs free access to water. The reservoir should be located within a radius of no more than ten kilometers.

Food

It is a scavenger by its feeding method. The animal's diet consists of various carrion and food waste. Doesn't refuse to eat corpses like large mammals, and medium-sized ones, such as gazelles, impalas, zebras. If the soft tissues have already been previously eaten by someone, hyenas also gnaw off the bones.

The striped hyena supplements its diet with seeds, fruits, seeds, fish, insects, and occasionally kills small animals: rodents, hares, birds, reptiles. Researchers have identified fifteen species of mammals that can be preyed on by the striped hyena. Some individuals have learned to hunt domestic animals (goats, sheep, dogs). A large proportion of the remains of domestic animals and even human remains in the diet of these animals in some regions of their range proves the hyena’s dependence on the customs and lifestyle of the local population. For example, in the Middle East, tombstones, in addition to their traditional function, are an obstacle for hyenas: they prevent them from digging up graves and feeding on human remains.

Lifestyle of the striped hyena

This animal is mainly active at night. At night, the hyena travels around its territory alone, although it prefers to rest in the company of several relatives. During the day, it hides in dense vegetation or in crevices among stones. It builds its burrows in dry ponds, caves, or settles in old burrows of badgers, porcupines and other animals.

The hyena moves completely silently, at a trot or at a walk, and can go unnoticed even when living very close to a person. Its speed does not exceed eight kilometers per hour. To determine the direction of the search for food, the hyena does not use the direction of the wind, but it keenly senses the smell of carrion brought by its gusts. Is a fairly frequent visitor to garbage dumps located around settlements, in gardens during mass fruiting.

The striped hyena is very careful. She has excellent hearing and sense of smell: these animals can hear sounds that are inaccessible to the human ear. They pick up sounds made by other predators at a great distance. They often lead hyenas to prey, which can be located at a considerable distance. In addition, striped hyenas are animals with an odor communication system. They have an odorous anal gland, the secretion of which marks the boundaries of their territory. Interestingly, each animal has a unique smell.

Social structure

The striped hyena is considered to be a loner, since it obtains food individually. Recent studies have shown that striped hyenas often live in small groups led by a dominant female. These groups are characterized by a certain social organization. Young members of the family help feed younger individuals, bringing prey to the den.

Although territorial relations are not typical for the behavior of the striped hyena, they do exist. Burrows are usually used for a short period of time and therefore have little to no protection. Juveniles demonstrate their subordination to adults. Fights in a group usually involve ritual wrestling, during which hyenas try to grab each other's cheeks. The loser of a fight demonstrates submission by showing the anal gland.

The striped hyena quite often uses the prey of other animals. From large predators For example, she keeps lions at a respectful distance (about fifty meters). For unknown reasons, striped hyenas behave submissively towards the Crocuta crocuta (spotted hyena) and allow it to take prey. Adult females are quite aggressive towards each other, and they are dominant towards males.

• Immature individuals love to eat cultivated plants, including melons.
• The name of the beast comes from the Greek word hus, which translates as “pig.”
• Not the most attractive appearance and the cowardly behavior of this animal gave rise to many legends and superstitions. The ancient Greeks believed that hyenas were able to change gender.
• If these scavengers settle near a cemetery, people are forced to place large stones on the graves, since hyenas can tear up the ground to get to human remains.