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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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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). 
Hyena Swazi knows when there is a chance for a free meal. The Wild Dog Pack is on the hunt so Swazi not only follows but at times runs with them!! The dogs try to chase him off but Swazi continues to stay very close! The dogs keep running and go into a drainage area where vehicles can't go. Interesting behaviour by Swazi.
Spotted Hyena in Museo de Ciencias de Caracas, Venezuela
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Kinship and similarity drive coordination of breeding-group choice in male spotted hyenas
Quote:Abstract  
Interactions between Spotted Hyenas & Brown Hyenas. Information & images from African Predators by Dr. Gus Mills
In a serious encounter, a spotted hyena may violent kill its less aggressive relative. Dr Gus witnessed such an event.  *This image is copyright of its original author Where spotted hyenas are abundant in large numbers, brown hyena numbers are low and many not even be found.  *This image is copyright of its original author "Usually, however, the brown hyaena is evicted"  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Spotted Hyena predation on Pachyderms - Part I
Rhinos Spotted hyenas have been recorded attacking and killing adult black rhinos. They also readily scavenge on rhinos that have died of various causes (natural, poaching etc). For obvious reasons, hyenas mostly attack little rhino calves. Information by Dr. Hans Kruuk (a renowned expert on Hyenas) & author of "The Spotted Hyena. A Study of Predation and Social Behavior" He observed a pack of 15 hyenas attacking a mother and calf and was certain that hyenas would kill the calf "Once a female rhino was accompanied by a small month-old calf with a broken hind leg (pl. 34). There were fifteen hyenas around the pair attempting to bite the calf, trying especially to grab the ears (which were half torn off) and the tail, while the mother and the calf itself made repeated short charges at them. The calf stood smaller than the hyenas at the shoulder and stayed close to its mother. It was limping very badly, and the bone of the broken leg was sticking through its skin. The hyenas would probably have killed it in the end, but it was shot for study purposes by another scientist."  *This image is copyright of its original author "On another occasion six hyenas were closely following a rhino mother with a calf about six months old. The hyenas were obviously interested in the calf and bit it once in the hind leg, whereupon it charged at them; the mother showed no interest in the hyenas. But on other occasions, I have seen rhinos go quite far out of their way to charge at hyenas lying or standing on the plains-the hyenas avoided the rhinos at distances of over 20 m. According to Goddard (1967) young rhinoceroses (up to the age of four months) are vulnerable to hyena predation; he observed three instances when hyenas tried unsuccessfully to catch a young calf, but they were always repulsed by the charges of the mother or of the calf itself."  *This image is copyright of its original author This the image of the hyenas attacking rhino calf with broken hind leg. "Rhinoceros protecting her injured calf (broken hind leg), Ngorongoro"  *This image is copyright of its original author The Spotted Hyena : A Study of Predation and Social Behavior Information by the same scientist from his author book, "Hyaena" Hyenas attack rhino calves and their combined effort can successfully break the rhino mother's defence. Hyenas may even attack adult rhinos which explains why some rhinos are earless! "The rhinoceros, that huge, armoured animal weighing up to 3000 lbs, can hardly be expected to be a fair prey for hyaenas. They are left in peace, though sometimes a party of boisterous 'fisi' may spend some time 'rhino-baiting'-it looks just like a game. But one evening I saw a mother rhino with a small calf walking past a hyaena den, just as it was getting dark, when suddenly hyaenas converged on the pair from all directions. About 25 hyaenas attempted to grab the calf, whilst its mother and the calf itself put up a very spectacular resistance. At the end of a 2.5 hour fight the calf had lost its ears and its tail, and was bleeding from many wounds-but the two were still holding out. Then unexpectedly another hyaena came running past on the heels of a wildebeest bull, and given the choice the attacking hyaenas chose to follow up the wildebeest rather than the rhino calf. The wildebeest was killed, and the rhino calf survived; two weeks later I met it again, looking rather shapeless without its normal appendages, but otherwise perfect. The calf was saved more or less by accident, but I have no doubt that on other occasions the hyaenas' combined efforts against the rhino's defence would be successful. The observation certainly indicated why some adult rhinos are earless!"  *This image is copyright of its original author Photos of the attack described by Dr Hans "Attempt to kill a rhino calf at night"  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Description of how adult rhinos may end up on the stomachs of hyenas.  *This image is copyright of its original author "Rhinos in Ngorongoro Crater, speared by Masai, eaten by hyaenas after they died in agony with spears in their body"  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Hyaena - Hans Kruuk Incredible modern account (with images) of five hyenas killing an adult injured white rhino "Five hyenas had trapped the rhino cow in the dam and were launching repeated attacks on her and were doing their best to kill her in the dam. They were biting her at the base of her tail and grabbing her by the ear and pushing her head underwater trying to drown her. (See the sequence of events pictured below)." "Hyenas pushing the rhino into the dam"  *This image is copyright of its original author "Hyenas attacking in the water"  *This image is copyright of its original author "The rhino cow fights back"  *This image is copyright of its original author "A temporary respite"  *This image is copyright of its original author "The rhino succumbs"  *This image is copyright of its original author An extraordinary hyena attack
Hunting Success in the Spotted Hyena: Morphological Adaptations and Behavioral Strategies
Abstract Once considered mere scavengers, it is now widely recognized that hunting is more important than scavenging in the feeding ecology of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). In this chapter, we outline the extraordinary morphological and behavioral adaptations possessed by these bone-cracking hyenas for efficient hunting and foraging within the context of their complex social organization. These social carnivores live in female-dominated societies structured by fission-fusion dynamics in which individuals hunt alone or in small groups to avoid feeding competition but join forces in large-scale cooperation with kin and non-kin groupmates to defend food from African lions (Panthera leo) and members of neighboring groups of hyenas. We discuss how social rank and age influence every aspect of their hunting behavior and consider the inevitable trade-offs faced regarding cooperative hunting of ephemeral prey. Finally, we evaluate what is known about the cognitive demands and conservation implications associated with the behavioral flexibility possessed by these efficient hunters. Fig. 5.1 Spotted hyenas are efficient predators able to capture prey exceeding their own body size such as wildebeest and oryx. Individual spotted hyena hunters capture most ungulate prey items when hunting alone or in pairs, but some prey, such as plains zebra, may only be taken down cooperatively (photos by Jennifer Smith, Gus Mills, and Joey Verge)  *This image is copyright of its original author Fig. 5.2 Data from a comprehensive meta-analysis of 15 studies on spotted hyenas observed in six different countries across the full geographic distribution of spotted hyenas demonstrates the common and infrequently killed prey of spotted hyena in relation to prey availability. Reprinted with permission from Hayward (2006) (Figure 1, page 610), Journal of Zoology, 270(4)  *This image is copyright of its original author Fig. 5.3 Spotted hyenas are efficient hunters that directly kill 60–95% of the prey they consume and regularly capture prey nearly three times their own size, such as the wildebeest (above) and a hippo (below). Their powerful jaws permit these bone-cracking hyenas to devour the entire prey item to a pile of bones in a matter of minutes (photos by Heather E. Watts and Kate Yoshida)  *This image is copyright of its original author Hunting Success in the Spotted Hyena: Morphological Adaptations and Behavioral Strategies
Spotted hyaena population density across habitat and land use types in southern Tanzania LINK
Abstract Although the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) has been widely considered to be resilient to human disturbance, the species is now thought to be undergoing widespread population declines. Nevertheless, only a handful of population density estimates are available for the species, despite the importance of this information for informing conservation management. This is a consequence of both a lack of surveys and logistical challenges associated with processing spotted hyaena data. In this study, we collaborated with a cohort of students to process camera trap data from the Ruaha-Rungwa landscape initially collected to estimate lion (Panthera leo) and leopard (Panthera pardus) population density. By doing so, we provide the first spatially explicit population density estimates for spotted hyaena in Tanzania, via spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) modelling. We also examine the relationship between population densities of spotted hyaena, lion and leopard at each site. Spotted hyaena densities varied from 3.55 ± 0.72 adults and sub-adults per 100 km2 in a miombo (Brachystegia-Julbernardia) woodland area of Ruaha National Park, to 10.80 ± 1.08 per 100 km2 in a prey-rich open woodland savannah habitat in Ruaha National Park, with intermediate densities recorded in Rungwa Game Reserve and MBOMIPA Wildlife Management Area. Our results suggest that spotted hyaena density is influenced by prey availability and protection, and the species may be less resilient to human pressures than widely thought. Spotted hyaena densities were generally positively correlated with densities of lion and leopard, suggesting that prey availability and anthropogenic disturbance had a greater impact than interspecific effects in shaping large carnivore densities in this system. Overall, our study provides some of the first insights into an under-studied species in an under-researched part of its range, while shedding light into the impact of anthropogenic versus interspecific effects in shaping population status of spotted hyaena in human-impacted African systems. Simplification of this information by WILDCRU (Wildlife Conservation and Research Unit) of the Oxford University. LINK "Spotted hyaenas are often thought to be resilient to human disturbance, but many of their populations are now in decline. Population density estimates are invaluable for conservation planning, yet very few have been produced to date. A new study led by WildCRU’s Charlotte Searle, using camera trap data from Tanzania’s Ruaha-Rungwa landscape, helps fill this gap. The authors collaborated with a group of students to process camera trap data that was initially collected to estimate lion and leopard population density and used spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) modelling to obtain density estimates for spotted hyaenas. They also examined the relationship between population densities of spotted hyaenas, lions and leopards at each study site. Their findings suggest that spotted hyaena density is influenced by prey availability and protection, and that the species is less resilient to human pressures than widely thought. They also give important insight into the relationships between spotted hyaenas, lions and leopards and the impact of human activities on their populations. More specifically, this work forms an important baseline for monitoring, and provides some of the first insights into spotted hyaena population ecology in miombo woodland – an important component of the species’ range."  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
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