Hyena - African Spotted Brown Hyenas
heavily built forequarters stand higher than the rump. The hyena has a large head with large rounded ears and black muzzle. Its body colour is normally fawn yellow to grey fawn with dark brown spots. They have a short erect mane which runs along the neck and shoulders.
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GeneralLife expectancy of the spotted hyena is up to 40 years. Hyenas can travel up to 40 kms in a night and 70 kms over two nights. The jaws and stomach of the spotted hyaena are so strong that it can devour the whole carcass of a medium sized antelope — bones, hoofs, horns and hide The myth that spotted hyenas are hermaphrodites came about as a result
of the females external genitalia - she has an erectile clitoris which
is as large as the male's Pawprints - Spotted Hyena
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Behaviourcreatures of open woodland, savannah or semi desert. They find carcasses by scent, by listening for the noises of other predators and also by watching vultures. Hyenas are excellent hunters - achieving a 75% kill rate from their own kills. Active mainly at dusk and night, they sleep in burrows or tall grass and enjoy mutual licking and grooming. Hyenas also have a wide repertoire of vocal sounds. From a cubs whine when begging for food, to high pitched yells when bitten to giggles when chased from a kill. The male spotted hyena has his entire penis freely suspended and the female's external genitalia so closely resemble those of the male that the two sexes are difficult to distinguish in the wild, but they are not Hermaphrodites |
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Breedingcan produce from 1 - 4 cubs although the usual reproduction is 2 cubs born after a gestation period of 110 days. Cubs will inherit their mothers rank within the clan. Feedingpredominantly carrion, they hunt old, sick and young herbivores. They also eat grass and other vegetable matter and will empty refuse bins at rest camps. They scavenge and will chase other predators from their kill.Defenseterritories are defended against other "clans" and are marked with anal gland secretions, urine as well as their distinctive bright white droppings Pawprints - Brown Hyena
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Hyena ClansThe spotted hyena family is a matriarchal society with the undisputed leader being the heaviest female. The single dominant male will defer to the ruling matriarch. The centre of clan activity is the den, where the cubs are raised and
individuals meet. Clans can range up to 80 animals and clans are territorial. Areas are
marked by anal gland pasting, also by depositing smelly secretions from
glands in their feet.
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