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Learn about hyenas, the feliform carnivorans with four extant species and a rich fossil record. Discover their origins, diversity, adaptations, ecology and cultural significance.
Learn about hyenas, the doglike mammals that scavenge and hunt in Africa and Asia. Find out their characteristics, behavior, adaptations, and threats.
- Hyena Profile
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A hyenais a prehistoric predator that has outlasted some of the most iconic monsters of the palaeolithic, survived the ice age, and was chasing humans out of caves for tens of thousands of years. It has some of the most powerful jaws in the animal kingdom and most of what we know about certain populations of early hominids come from bone fragments ...
1. There are dog-like and cat-like hyenas
A really long time ago, hyenas split into two groups. One branch evolved to be like dogs, and the other grew to look a bit more like cats, at least in the formation of their jaw. Cats and hyenas both have reduced dentition, so their skulls can be hard to tell apart, at least when they’re not connected to the rest of the hyena. Almost all of the dog-like hyenas went extinct when real dogs arrived and took up all the niches. That’s why, out of the 4 species of hyena around today, only one repre...
2. They’re bone crushers
As we mentioned, the dog-like hyenas went one way, and the cat-like hyenas another. The latter developed a useful survival tactic that may have helped them survive: they evolved to crush and eat bone. The spotted hyena has a bite force of 1,100 psi, which is more powerful than lions and tigers. Along with an immense bite force, the cat-like hyenas adapted their stomach acid and gut flora to digest almost everything in an animal carcass. That allowed them to eat long-dead meat, leftover from o...
3. There was once a 200kg hyena that could crush elephant bones
One of these hyenas was an absolute monster. Pachycrocuta brevirostris, a giant hyena, and the largest bone-crusher ever known, evolved alongside early humans, and competed for the same food source. This now-extinct member of the hyena family was heavy and slow, more cumbersome than its modern relatives, and is thought to have been a pure scavenger. 2
Scientific Classification
1. Riley Black (2019), “Prehistoric Hyena’s Teeth Show Bone-Crushing Carnivore Roamed the Arctic“, Smithsonian Mag. 2. Riley Black (2017), “In the Shadow of the Greatest Hyena“, Scientific American. 3. Sarah Zhang (2012), “Hyenas Change Their Diet During Lent, According to a Poop Analysis“, Discover Mag. 4. Lorena Lyon (2019), “Hyenas Probably Have More Friends Than You: Spotted hyena social hierarchies“, Havard. 5. Nicolas Mathevon (2010), “What the hyena’s laugh tells: Sex, age, dominance a...
Learn about the four species of hyenas, their evolution, their adaptations, and their behavior. Discover how hyenas are related to cats, how they crush bones, and why their poo is white.
Watch hair-raising videos of hyenas in action, from hunting to socializing, and learn about their family structure and behavior. BBC Earth is the official channel of Sir David Attenborough and other wildlife documentaries.
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Hyenas are known for their famous laugh-like vocalizations. These dog-like predators are actually more closely related to cats, and are a uniquely small member of the carnivore family. There are just four living species of hyenas, and each is slightly different in appearance and behavior.
Feb 8, 2024 · Learn how spotted hyenas, the most abundant large carnivores in Africa, hunt, socialize, and adapt to various habitats. Discover their advanced society, cognition, and ability to break stereotypes and myths.
Learn about hyenas, Africa's most common large carnivores, and their challenges, solutions, behaviors, and habitats. Find out how AWF works to protect hyenas and their ecosystems from human-wildlife conflict and poaching.
