Striped hyaena
Hyenas are the most common large carnivore in Africa. Hyenas are neither members of the dog nor the cat family. They are unique, and so have their own family: Hyaenidae, which has four members: Striped hyenas, the “laughing” Spotted hyenas, Brown hyenas, and the aardwolf (which is not a wolf). These animals are sometimes referred to as “the scourge of the Serengeti”. However, their clean-up work is important. The Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is smaller, shyer, and less social than the more well-known Spotted hyena.
The Striped hyena has a fairly massive, but short torso set on long legs. The hind legs are significantly shorter than the forelimbs, thus causing the back to slope downwards. The legs are relatively thin and weak. The neck is thick, long, and largely immobile, while the head is heavy and massive with a shortened facial region. The eyes are small, while the sharply pointed ears are very large, broad, and set high on the head. Like all hyenas, the Striped hyena has bulky pads on its paws, as well as blunt but powerful claws. The winter coat is unusually long and uniform for an animal its size, with a luxuriant mane of tough, long hairs along the back from the occiput to the base of the tail. The coat is generally coarse and bristly, though this varies according to season. In winter, the coat is fairly dense, and soft, and has well-developed underfur. In summer, the coat is much shorter and coarser, and lacks underfur, though the mane remains large. In winter, the coat is usually of a dirty-brownish grey or dirty-grey color. The hairs of the mane are light grey or white at the base, and black or dark brown at the tips. The muzzle is dark, greyish brown, brownish-grey, or black, while the top of the head and cheeks are more lightly colored. The ears are almost black. A large black spot is present on the front of the neck and is separated from the chin by a light zone. A dark field ascends from the flanks ascending to the rear of the cheeks. The inner and outer surfaces of the forelegs are covered with small dark spots and transverse stripes. The flanks have four indistinct dark vertical stripes and rows of diffused spots. The outer surface of the thighs has 3-4 distinct vertical or oblique dark bands which merge into transverse stripes in the lower portion of the legs. The tip of the tail is black with white underfur.
A native of North and East Africa, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and the Caucasus, Striped hyenas live in open savannas, grasslands, and scrub woodlands in arid to semi-arid environments. Today the species' distribution is patchy in most ranges, thus indicating that it occurs in many isolated populations, particularly in most of West Africa, most of the Sahara, parts of the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
These animals were once thought to live solitary lives, but in fact, they live in small groups. They do forage alone, however. When there is plenty of food, a mother may share her den and hunting ranges with her adult daughters. Young females who have not yet reproduced or found their own home range sometimes help with the raising of their mother’s and sisters’ cubs. This species forages at night and is only active during the day if the weather is rainy, cloudy, or stormy. They sleep or rest in large caves, or will sometimes use dense vegetation for cover. Striped hyenas are typically quiet, but will screech loudly or growl and then roar if seriously threatened. They will call to their cubs, responding to their whines by feeding them. They raise their impressive manes when threatened or upset, which makes them appear nearly double the size, to make enemies back off. They are territorial creatures and scent-mark their territorial boundaries as a warning to their rivals.
Striped hyenas are primarily scavengers and eat mainly carrion and human refuse. They scavenge medium and large-sized mammals, such as wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, and impalas. They will eat bones from carcasses after the meat has gone. They will also sometimes kill small animals such as rodents, hares, reptiles, and birds.
Striped hyenas are monogamous, and males help females establish their den, raise the young and feed their mate when the cubs are born. Mating seasons vary with the location: in Transcaucasia, they breed from January to February, and in southeast Turkmenia, they breed from October to November. A litter numbers 1 to 4 and is born after a gestation period of 90 days. Cubs are raised in dens, caves, or shallow rock hollows. When born they are blind with their ear canals closed. In 7 to 8 days they can open their eyes. After 3 weeks their teeth develop. They are able to eat solid food in a month. Weaning can be any time from 8 weeks until 12 months, while their mother teaches them foraging skills. These animals reach reproductive maturity when they are 2-3 years old.
Humans are one of the biggest threats to this species, persecuting it with tracking, trapping, and baiting, due to believing the animal kills livestock, robs graves, and makes off with small children. They are also often poisoned due to bait being laid out for different carnivores, caught in traps set for other species by fur trappers, and killed in road accidents. Once a very abundant species, it has now declined throughout most of its range, being extinct in many places as a result of the abovementioned threats, as well as a reduction in carrion because the prey of other large carnivores, like leopards, tigers, and wolves, is also decreasing in number.
The Striped hyena is already extinct in many localities and its populations are generally declining throughout its range. The IUCN Red List states that the total population size of the Striped hyena is 5,000 to 14,000 animals, including 5,000-10,000 mature animals. This species is currently classified as Near Threatened (NT) and the numbers continue to decrease.
