Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

[Sully]

(11-05-2015, 11:22 PM)Pantherinae Wrote: Great pictures although this is a thread deicated to the spotted hyena not the brown hyena, but that's okey! 
@SVTIGRIS where did You find The picture of The brown hyena with The dead cheetah any idea about if The hyena killed The cheetah, or just found it dead?

oops, sorry about that

the same hyena in the pic in this article

"Guess what this brown hyena had for dinner
By Earth Touch October 20 2014




 

Cheetah hindquarter … it's what's for dinner. For those not familiar with this strange and shaggy-looking member of the hyena family, you're looking at Hyaena brunnea – a.k.a the brown hyena. And on its menu here is a choice piece of cheetah carcass.


These elusive, nocturnal carnivores are the rarest members of the hyena family. They're also scavenging experts, covering large distances during solitary nightly excursions to sniff out carcasses using their exceptional sense of smell. 
This particular snack was probably obtained in just that way. "In all likelihood, the cheetah was killed by another large predator (a lion or leopard) and then eaten by this brown hyena," says Vincent van der Merwe, who is the cheetah metapopulation coordinator for the Carnivore Conservation Programme with South African environmental organisation Endangered Wildlife Trust."

"But van der Merwe rules out the possibility that the brown hyena could have attacked and killed the cheetah on its own. "Brown hyenas regularly chase cheetahs off their kills but I don’t know of a single incident where a brown hyena has actually killed an adult cheetah. However, it is well known that brown hyenas are responsible for a considerable proportion of cheetah cub mortalities," he adds."

http://www.earthtouchnews.com/natural-wo...for-dinner


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