Hey, don't stand too close, I'm a hyena, not a pussy! (8 photos)

Oh, these hyenas already. The name even became synonymous with a sycophant and a cowardly person. But in reality, these animals are completely different from the image that tired stereotypes paint us.





Babies are born tiny, weighing less than 500 g. The skin of newborns is black, and spots on it appear later, only after a few weeks.



Despite the physiological similarity to dogs, these animals are technically larger than cats: their hearing organs, skull and especially the structure of the circulatory system are the same as those of cats.

The habitat of the largest hyenas, spotted hyenas, is Africa. These representatives of the species reach one and a half meters at the withers. The other three currently in existence are the brown, tabby, and smaller aardvark.





spotted hyena

An interesting feature of these spotted creatures is their complete and undeniable matriarchy with a strict hierarchical system. This is due to the increased testosterone content in females. Those that occupy a lower level on the hierarchical ladder are still higher in status than males. Again, the hierarchical struggle for primacy takes place only between females: males stay aloof from this and do not participate in challenging the right of the strongest.



Striped hyena

Although it is common to consider these animals as scavengers, this is not so: they get up to 90% of their food by hunting, so they are quite full-fledged predators.

The intended victim can be pursued at speeds of up to 60 km/h. But they can slowly and patiently move for hours after a wounded animal, waiting for it to lose strength.



Brown or brown hyena

The main food is antelope, but a pack of hyenas can easily drive larger prey - giraffes, buffaloes. Cases of attacks on elephants have also been recorded. True, they are mostly elephants, since few people can cope with an adult, angry giant.



Aardwolf

In fiction, a stereotype has become established that hyenas are a kind of standard of cowardice. But in reality this is completely untrue! The reason is their specific hunched physique. But in fact, even the king of beasts will envy the bravery of these creatures. After all, few people alone are capable of attacking a beast that is three times your size. But hyenas can.



Fights in which one of the participants dies is a common occurrence. And quite rare for the animal world. Typically, an animal demonstrates its strength when it wants to force a fellow tribesman to submit: it bites, screams, and strikes vulnerable places.



But, apparently, hyenas have a lot of humanity, since they are ready to risk their lives in order to gain a foothold on the hierarchical ladder and climb one step higher.