Spotted Hyena

Spotted Hyenas are very successful hunters

People dislike hyenas because they see them as scavengers feeding on rotten meat. Awkward looking because of their long powerful front legs and short hind legs and their secretive life in the dark. Spotted Hyenas are very effective hunters, have a complicated social structure in which, females dominate in a clan and hyenas are very intelligent animals. In Namibia spotted hyenas are classified as protected species and their conservation status is vulnerable while the global IUCN status is least concern.

Population

The population estimate for Namibia is 615 to 715 with more than half of the population found in Etosha National Park, around 50 found in southern Namibia mainly in and on the edge of the Namib Desert. An estimated population of 225 - 325 spotted hyenas are live in north-eastern Namibia in National Parks and in the Nyae-Nyae area. Sometimes they are found on commercial farms where they are not welcome. They have learned to avoid humans and moved into parks or areas sparsely populated by humans.

Food

In Etosha National Park spotted hyenas in the central part kill mainly springbok while in the eastern part kudus are the main prey according to researcher Martina Trinkel. They do hunt other species too and do scavenge when a carcass is available. As in other parts of Africa lions and spotted hyenas are in fierce competition but Trinkel has never in her research witnessed spotted hyenas take the kill of lions as it often happens in other African countries, but as in other countries lions have killed spotted hyenas in Etosha.

Clans and home range

Clan sizes in Etosha National Park are small usually 9 – 15 adults and sub-adults with home territories up to 600 km². In the wet season the home ranges are larger than in the dry season when prey animals have to stay closer to waterholes and are more concentrated. Clans are led by females and any disturbance through capturing or killing of clan members can have disastrous results on the social structure and behaviour of a clan. This happened in Etosha in 2007 when twelve members of a dominant clan were captured and relocated to a game farm. The rest of the clan disappeared according to Martina Trinkel because they could not compete against the neighbouring clan. If two equally strong clans meet at a boundary, the noisy attacks and counter attacks can last for a few hours. One clan charges with tails lifted while the other clan moves back. Once a hundred metres in their own territory the clan reunites and charges pushing the rivals back into their territory again. The whole spectrum of sound from “laughter” to howling can be heard all the time. It is a noisy show of strength. In the Namib Desert the home are much larger and a collared female moved over an area of 4584 km² in just over a year according to researcher Ingrid Wiesel.

Important link

Spotted hyenas are an important link in an ecosystem because they mainly hunt the weak and sick of a prey population, they clean up carcasses and have powerful jaws to crack bones leaving small pieces of bone which are important for e.g. vultures to supplement their calcium intake which in turn is needed to form a strong egg shell. Hyenas open carcasses for other scavengers as well.  

Unique

A spotted hyena society is matriarchal meaning females are more dominant than males. Although living in clans each female looks after her young only, since the social system is openly competitive rather than cooperative. Females have a pseudo-penis which makes it very difficult to sex spotted hyenas. Females struggle to conceive and give birth as a consequence of female masculinisation.

Text and photos by Dirk Heinrich