Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

[Styx38]

I have seen many misconceptions of Hyenas being scavengers.

While it is true that they are known for usurping kills, they still prefer to hunt prey.

"During period II, spotted hyaenas were observed to feed on 124 carcasses for which the cause of death could be determined. Of these, 69% (n = 85) were killed by hyaenas, and 31% (n = 39) were scavenged in the broad sense (both kleptoparasitized carcasses and those scavenged in the strict sense). During period I, hyaenas were observed feeding on 262 carcasses of which 93% (n = 244) were killed by hyaenas and 7% (n = 18) were scavenged from other predators or died from causes other than predation (Kruuk 1972)."

That being said, they do scavenge depending on the relative number of Lion kills.

"The proportion of carcasses scavenged and acquired by kleptoparasitizing other predators increased from period I to II. This was facilitated by an increase in the relative number of lion kills available to hyaenas during the same period."

Höner, Oliver P., et al. "The response of spotted hyaenas to long‐term changes in prey populations: functional response and interspecific kleptoparasitism." Journal of Animal Ecology 71.2 (2002): 236-246.



The statistics of Hyena kill rates vs. scavenging rates are similar here.

"The spotted hyena is still widely regarded as a scavenger that picks up leftovers at the kills of other sympatric carnivores (e.g., cheetah, leopard, or lion) or feeds on carrion. However, this is incorrect. Although spotted hyenas do scavenge opportunistically, they are efficient hunters, and directly kill 60%–95% of the food they eat (Holekamp and Dloniak, 2010) (Fig. 1)."

source: Smith, Jennifer E., and Kay E. Holekamp. "Spotted hyenas." Michigan State University: East Lansing, MI (2010). Reply