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Terrestrial Wild Animals
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Carnivorous and Omnivores Animals, Excluding Felids
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Canids (Canidae) & Hyaenids (Hyaenidae)
Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
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Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
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Hyenas do have very impressive necks.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Considering how lions often dominate hyenas, it's probably fair that sometimes, hyenas fight back and win:
Can you imagine getting bitten by this?
 *This image is copyright of its original author
 
Jens Cullmann: " Three heads ... what happened before was cool to watch. I walked early morning in the park. From far I heard some commotion. When I came closer, I saw two lions circled by a bunch of hyenas. Unfortunately between the action and me was an elephant cow ... and she was already looking at me ? so I had to make a big loop to get to the action. When I arrived the lions where gone. But I counted 18 hyenas around a dead buffalo feasting. I guess the lions killed the buffalo and were chased away by the hyenas. I posted the last weeks already a few images. This was the missing story! . "
Development of bite strength and feeding behaviour in juvenile spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta)
Abstract Bite strength is of great importance to carnivores, as their jaws must produce forces of sufficient magnitude to kill and consume their prey. Spotted hyenas, well known for crushing and consuming bones, were studied to determine how tooth and jaw growth affect bite strength and feeding behaviour. Nine captive individuals, aged 6 months to 2 years of age, were sampled as they grew. At 8- to12-week intervals, morphological measurements that estimated jaw muscle mass, tooth size and skull size were taken. Using a force transducer, bite force was measured directly for these juveniles as well as other captive individuals of different ages. In addition, feeding behaviour and performance were quantified periodically by bone tests in which individuals were offered a sheep femur for 15 min. Behaviour and performance were expected to change with the shift from juvenile to adult dentition. Results were not entirely as expected. Morphological measurements of growth reached a plateau at about 20 months, whereas bite strength increased in a linear fashion up to 5 years of age. A fundamental change in tooth use during bone cracking followed the replacement of deciduous teeth with permanent teeth; the primary area of tooth use moved from anterior to rearmost premolars, increasing the mechanical advantage of the jaw adductors. The timing of this shift seemed to be a function of a decrease in gape limitation as a result of growth as well as caudal movement of the premolars. Our data demonstrated that juvenile hyenas had not achieved adult feeding performance levels at 12 months of age, when they are typically weaned in the wild. This suggests that recently weaned cubs may be at an increased risk of starvation and that selection might favour later weaning times.
James Tyrell: " Hyenas are nothing if not persistent. And apparently impala spinal columns are bloody strong!
This hyena had made multiple attempts to pull down what was left of this impala ram kill that a leopard had hoisted into a Cassia tree, yet despite grabbing on like in this photo, and hanging for long seconds whilst attempting to tug the whole thing free, the vertebrae held, and the hyena ended up going hungry. " 
James Tyrrell: " A very full-bellied hyena licks its lips as it walks away from the carnage around the hippo carcass behind it. "
" The spotted hyena is a fascinating apex predator and one of the world’s most misunderstood animals. Africa's wild places would not be complete without them, and neither would your safari. "
Beverly Joubert: " Happy International Women’s Day!
Repost from @natgeo Photo by @beverlyjoubert | Looking back on three decades of filmmaking, I am often struck by how far women in my profession have come since my first tentative steps into what was then an almost completely male-dominated field. And yet even today, we still have so far to go … It’s not surprising that when I’m thinking about issues of female agency and power, I find myself looking to the natural world that has been my subject matter for so long. And there are few more fitting examples of female mettle, strength, and fierceness than the spotted hyena. Given her subversive, role-bending, larger-than-life existence in the mammalian world, it is perhaps equally unsurprising that this species has been so maligned and misunderstood in the past. Only now, with ongoing, careful research into their fascinating lives, are we beginning to truly appreciate female hyenas’ social clout, their physical strength and endurance, and their impressive intelligence. It’s welcome inspiration courtesy of the natural world… " |
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