How much do you know abou hyenas?

Here's some random facts 'bout them out.

The family Hyaenidae contains four species, each in its own genus, found in Africa, SW Asia, and India.
There are three species, (Crocuta crocuta, Hyaena hyaena, and Hyaena brunnea), hunt and scavenge large vertebrate prey.The fourth species, the aardwolf (Proteles cristata), subsists almost exclusively on termites.
Their closest biological relatives are members of the Herpestidae family, consisting of mongooses and meerkats.

A unique feature of the spotted hyena is the enlarged clitoris and 2 scrotal pouches of the female, which are externally indistinguishable from the penis and scrotum of the male.Another unique character is the anal pouch, which the animals evert to mark objects within their territories with odorous secretions.

Hyena clans are centered around females, which are dominant and larger than the males. Males disperse, whereas females generally stay with natal groups. Each clan usually defends a territory, which contains the foraging and denning areas.

facts on spotted hyenas (gots a lot cause they're my favorite xD):

Known as the “laughing hyena”. They laugh, howl and wail. The laughter call can be heard for several miles and it is used to alert other clan members that they found food. Occurs all over Africa, south of the Sahara. Thy are the largest of the hyenas. The rump is rounded rather than angular, which prevents attackers chasing from behind getting a firm grip on it. Females are larger than males, weighing 12% more. Their upper and lower third premolars are conical bone-crushers, with a third bone-holding cone jutting from the lower fourth premolar. Spotted hyenas also have carnassials (modified last upper premolar and the first molar) behind their bone-crushing premolars, the position of which allows hyenas to crush bone with their premolars without blunting their carnassials.
Combined with large jaw muscles and a special vaulting to protect the skull against large forces, these characteristics give spotted hyenas a powerful bite, 40% more force than a leopard can generate. The spotted hyena is considered to be near the same level as some primates in terms of their social intelligence.
Males will not consume prey until females have had their fill. The most dominant male will wait for the most junior female to eat, without challenging her.
Hyenas mark their territory by secreting a oily substance from their anal glands.
They also scratch the ground with their paws to mark their territories.
Areas far from the den are used as “latrines”, another way the clan marks the boundary of its territory.

Stripped hyena:

Is a monogamous animal, with both males and females assisting one another in raising their cubs.
A nocturnal animal, typically only makes itself visible in complete darkness, and is quick to return to its lair before sunrise. Although it is often considered a cowardly animal (due to its habit of feigning death when attacked), it has been known to stand its ground against larger predators such as leopards in disputes over food. Has no natural predators, it does often come into conflict with humans.
Striped hyenas have been known to kill humans, especially children, and they are often poisoned and trapped for preying on livestock or raiding farms. Some of their body parts are also believed to have medicinal value. Striped hyenas are listed as near-threatened through habitat loss. Is estimated to be under 10,000 mature individuals. Inhabit open country, as well as the forests of India and the seashore, scavenging on dead animals which wash up from the sea. Prey includes carrion, goats, sheep, donkeys, and horses of northern herdsmen. They will also eat insects, small animals such as mice, and fruit. Often raid melon patches in Israel, bringing them into conflict with farmers.Striped hyenas frequently grab and shake each other by the neck in mock fighting rituals.

Brown hyenas (second favorite :D):

It is currently the rarest hyena. Erectile hairs 12 in in length cover the neck and back.
Have powerful jaws: young animals can crack the leg bones of springbucks within five minutes of birth, though this ability deteriorates with age as their teeth gradually wear. Skulls are larger than those of the striped hyenas. Possess an anal gland below the base of the tail, which produces a black and white paste. The gland has a groove, coated with a white secretion, which divides a pair of lobes which produce a black secretion. These secretions are deposited on grass stalks roughly every quarter mile of their feeding grounds, particularly around territorial borders.

Have a social hierarchy like wolves, with an alpha male and alpha female. Are social animals that may live in clans consisting of one adult of each gender and young, though there are reports of clans composed of four males and six females. Brown hyenas maintain a stable clan hierarchy through ritualized aggressive displays and mock fights.
They typically forage alone, and do not maintain a territory, instead using common hunting paths.
Emigration is common in brown hyena clans, particularly among young males, which will join other groups upon reaching adulthood.

They are primarily scavengers, the bulk of their diet consisting of carcasses killed by larger predators, though they may supplement their diet with rodents, insects, eggs, and fruit. Are aggressive scavengers, frequently appropriating the kills of jackals, cheetahs, and leopards. Single brown hyenas will charge leopards at kills with jaws held wide open and have treed adult male leopards. In the Kalahari desert, brown hyenas are often the dominant mammalian carnivores present because of their dominance over the other predators listed above, and because of the scarcity of lions, spotted hyenas, and packs of African wild dogs.Brown hyenas will cache excess food in shrubs or holes and recover it within 24 hours. Are poor hunters, and live prey makes up only a small proportion of their diet. In the Kalahari, brown hyenas are active 80% of the time at night searching for food in an area spanning 20 miles.
Their powerful sense of smell allows them to track even dry carcasses 1.2 miles downwind.

Aardwolf (they're super interesting!):

Is a small, insectivorous mammal, native to Eastern and Southern Africa. The name means "earth wolf" in Dutch.
It is related to hyenas, but unlike its relatives, it does not hunt large prey. This unusual animal preys on insects. It feeds mainly on termites and can eat more than 200,000 in a single night, using its long, sticky tongue to collect them.Are shy and nocturnal, sleeping in underground burrows by day.
They usually use existing burrows of aardvarks, porcupines or springhares, despite being capable of creating their own.

By night, an aardwolf can consume up to 200,000 harvester termites using its sticky, long tongue.They take special care not to destroy the termite mound or consume the entire colony, which ensures that the termites can rebuild and provide a continuous supply of food. They will often memorize the location of such nests and return to them to save the trouble of finding a new one. They are also known to feed on other insects, larvae, and eggs, and occasionally small mammals and birds. Unlike other hyenas, aardwolves do not scavenge or kill larger animals.They live as monogamous pairs, with their young, defending the same territory.


And that's all I know of as of now. Hope you enjoyed if you read it all xD

Resorce(s): my own knowledge and my college Zoology class :3

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