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| Brown Hyena - Hyaena brunnea | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 7 2012, 07:59 PM (10,370 Views) | |
| Taipan | Jan 7 2012, 07:59 PM Post #1 |
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Brown Hyena - Hyaena brunnea Physical Description Weight - 37 to 47 kg; avg. 42 kg (81.4 to 103.4 lbs; avg. 92.4 lbs) Brown Hyenas are medium sized with long legs and a sloping back. Their ears are long and pointed. Long coarse dark brown to black hair covers most of the body except the head and neck, which are grey, and the legs, which are covered with brown and grey bars. Their is little differences in size or coloration between the sexes, with males being just slightly larger. Range - Brown Hyenas are restricted to the southern tip of Africa. The largest populations are in the southern Kalahri and the coastal areas in Southwest Africa.  Habitat - Brown hyenas inhabit an arid habitat, consisting mainly of "open scrub, woodland savannah, grassland, and semi-desert". Along coastal areas of their range they are often found scavenging along beaches.  Behaviour Brown hyenas live in small clans ranging from a breeding pair and their young to groups of several mature males and females. The clan cooperatively defends a territory, but they do not forage together. Brown Hyena are nocturnal. Large carcasses are shared among members of the clan and females cooperate in lactation for young. Brown hyena females give birth and raise their young in dens, which are often stolen from aardvarks, but are occasionally dug by the females. There is a social hierarchy within each sex; the highest ranking female has an equal rank to the alpha male. This hierarchy determines feeding time at carcasses, the maternal duties, and the number of matings by a male. This hierarchy is maintained through ritualized forms of aggression, including biting of the neck. A greeting between two brown hyenas consists of mutual smelling of the head, neck, back and anus. Emigration between clans is common, and eventually all males leave their parental clans. Brown hyena are generally fairly quiet except during conflict, when they may use vocalization as a method of communication between clan members.  Diet Brown Hyenas, like most other members of the Hyaenidae, have massive jaws and well developed molars and premolars specialized for crushing bone. The brown hyena is mainly a scavenger, feeding upon carcasses of large herbivores killed by other animals. Their jaw and dentary adaptations allow them to break open the long bones of these large animals and feed on the marrow inside. Along coastal areas of their habitat, Brown Hyena often feed on carcasses of seals as well as other smaller marine animals. In addition to being a scavenger, Brown Hyena hunt and eat a wide variety of smaller mammals and reptiles. Brown hyenas may also consume fruits and mushrooms for their high water content, making them less dependent upon fresh water than other members of their family. Brown hyena with dead seal -  In Namibia - Seal predation At the Namib Desert Coast, brown hyenas are the only large predators and their only competitors are black-backed jackals. Prey density is generally low and therefore they can’t rely on regular meals found as carcasses. However carrion, such as seabirds or Cape fur seals, is washed up along the entire Namibian coastline and serves as an important food source. Nevertheless, brown hyena density along the Namib Desert coast is high and to maintain their population size, mainland Cape fur seal breeding colonies are of major importance. Brown hyenas visit these colonies on their foraging trips to feed on fresh carcasses or to kill seal pups. This food source is available during the entire year since seal pups are only weaned shortly before the next pup is born. Periods of food shortage are therefore seldom and brown hyenas here are in an especially good condition. Here's some more research on Seal predation in Namibia. Seals and brown hyenas behave different at night and the daytime observations might therefore not apply for night-time foraging behaviour and the change in the behaviour of the seals at night might have an influence on brown hyena hunting success. Furthermore, brown hyenas are nocturnal animals and only a few individuals can be observed during the day with decreasing frequency during the progressing seal pupping season, as the high temperatures in summer prevent brown hyenas from foraging during the day. Some of the known and expected behavioural differenced between night-time and daytime are: Brown hyena:
Seals:
Brown Hyena chasing seals -  |
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| Canidae | Jan 10 2012, 12:38 AM Post #2 |
Omnivore
  ![]](http://b2.ifrm.com/28122/87/0/p701956/pipright.png)
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Hyena / Leopard interactions, O.P'ed by Taipan. In previous studies of brown hyenas, the interactions between these secretive carnvivores and other large carnivores was evaluated. In the southern Kalahari, it was thought that leopards and brown hyenas rarely interact since leopards often bring their kills into trees away from larger competitors such as lions and spotted hyenas (Mills 1990). In the central Kalahari, however, brown hyenas were thought to be dominant to leopards, stealing kills from adult male leopards (Owens and Owens 1978). Although it is difficult to observe leopards or brown hyenas in the dense acacia bush of this study area, from the kill-sites found, there was strong evidence that brown hyenas and leopards visited the same kill sites (Table below). Leopard kill sites show that leopards do not often hoist their kills into trees (14%), while those kills found on the ground, after a minimum of a few days, were often scavenged by brown hyenas (77%)." http://www.umass.edu/nrc/students/WCPN_Report_4.pdf |
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| Canidae | Jan 10 2012, 12:41 AM Post #3 |
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Omnivore
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More Hyena / Leopard interaction from Vita, posted by WBT -      
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| Canidae | Jan 10 2012, 12:43 AM Post #4 |
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Omnivore
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Hyena / Jackal interaction, O.P'ed by Taipan - Brown Hyaena and Jackal Interaction Date: Monday, May 07, 2007 Producer: Ronnie Watt E-mail: veldfocus@iafrica.com It has been a long time since last we featured a brown hyaena! Cheryl Hesom of Dundee had the good fortune to photograph one together with black-backed jackals in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The jackals were feasting on the remains of a wildebeest killed by a pride of lions the day before. A lone brown hyaena then ran closer but it did not scatter the jackals... they stood their ground and tolerated the hyena as it fed alongside them. The hyaena tugged away at the carcass, got hold of the spine and part of the pelvis, and carried its bounty off. Cheryl is curious about the hyaena’s scavenging behaviour. Is this typical of the brown hyaena? But what surprises me is the peaceful co-feeding with the jackals. Lone brown hyena will forage over an extended area but when living in groups, they scavenge communally. It is predominantly a scavenger. It never hunts large herbivores and rarely hunts small mammals. In fact, the success rate for the latter is less than 5 percent. It has a preference for fresh meat but will be attracted to carrion where the ribs and smaller bones are preferred. Larger bones with their scraps of flesh and gristle and the highly nutritious bone marrow, are carried off. Though it will stay clear of lions at their kill, the brown hyena has the audacity to steal the kills of cheetah, leopard and caracal. In turn, the brown hyena will surrender a meal to spotted hyenas and wild dogs. The black-backed jackal is its greatest competitor for food and if the brown hyena can’t chase them away from a carcass, it will quickly take what it can, such as a limb or in this case the spine and pelvis, and carry it off. Cheryl, your pics describe this behaviour to the tee. These photos do not represent the above story.     |
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| Canidae | Jan 10 2012, 12:43 AM Post #5 |
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Omnivore
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More Jackal / Hyena interaction, O.P'ed by Dasyurus - Brown hyena/Black-backed Jackal Interaction Date: Monday, February 25, 2008 Producer: Ronnie Watt E-mail: veldfocus@iafrica.com The seal colonies along the Namibian coast constitute a rich and predictable food source for carnivores. Even the lions in the Namib Desert feed extensively on them, but it is not always clear whether the lions killed it or are just scavenging on seal carcasses. The seal pups also fall prey to another carnivore - the brown hyena. A brown hyena carrying a seal pup it either caught or scavenged is being followed by a lone black-backed jackal. Within minutes 8 jackals join in to mob and pester the hyena. Some even try to snatch the seal from the hyena’s jaws and tug of war begins. The hyena not wanting to surrender the carcass; the jackals equally persistent in harrowing the hyena. In the end, their mobbing pays off. The hyena has no option but to surrender its prey and then it lopes off. http://www.5050.co.za/inserts.asp?ID=8258 |
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| Canidae | Jan 10 2012, 12:45 AM Post #6 |
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Omnivore
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More Leopard / Hyena interaction, O.P'ed by Taipan -  From The Behavior Guide to African Mammals By Richard Estes, Edward Osborne Wilson http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=g977LsZHpcsC&pg=PA332&lpg=PA332&dq=brown+hyena+killed+by+leopard&source=bl&ots=1upRTv2CKd&sig=ZmIVnpFlLp5M7_NUY3Hyt-WSuHE&hl=en&ei=PtBVSv_6EYHQtgPK_PzzAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=brown%20hyena%20killed%20by%20leopard&f=false |
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| Canidae | Jan 10 2012, 12:47 AM Post #7 |
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Omnivore
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Inadvertantly found this study whilst looking for some of Kruuk's stuff : great information here : http://www.owens-foundation.org/docs/OwensandOwensFeedEcology070309.pdf |
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| Canidae | Jan 10 2012, 12:48 AM Post #8 |
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Omnivore
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Study of Brown Hyena / Jackal interaction & predation with Cap Fur Seals, O.P'ed by Monsoon / Hyaenidae - http://www.strandwolf.org/docs/Wiesel2006Dissertation.pdf 
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| Canidae | May 27 2012, 05:18 AM Post #9 |
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Omnivore
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Lion / Brown Hyena Conflict : Photo series : Brown Hyena killed / consumed by male Lion     "We found this Lion eating a Brown Hyena, It took him about 3 hours to finish it. This happens at Kij Kij Water hole." http://www.outdoorphoto.co.za/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=244171&title=jb03905-o&cat=517 Same incident also noted by SANParks were it won Public Sighting of the Month :   --------------------------  "Young Male lion seen at Marie se Gat outside Nossob attacking a Brown Hyena ... One less brown hyena in Kalagadi now I'm afraid!" http://www.outdoorphoto.co.za/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=237885&title=lion-v-brown-hyena&cat=500 ------------------------ Lions kill brown Hyena at !Xaus Lodge    Just before sunrise this morning lions killed a brown Hyena on the pan in front of !Xaus Lodge. We woke to the noise, and only at first light were we able to work out what had happened. As it got light enough to take these pictures they were seen dragging the carcass off the pan and into the bushes where they are busy eating the remains. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150671755537125.451181.116113092124&type=3 ---------------------------  Rest of the good study : http://www.owens-foundation.org/docs/OwensandOwensFeedEcology070309.pdf Here is presumably the incident but described in the Owen's informal book 'Cry of the Kalahari', along with another incident of predation. Lions sometimes maul brownies (Mills 1990, Eloff 1964) but only kill as an act of predation in droughts it seems. Both these instances were in drought. Muffin and Moppet are the two resident males of the time : "Lying flat on her side, her scarred head and neck on the cooling sand, Star occasionally pawed some of the fine grains onto her wrinkled belly. Sometime later she heard a faint sound from downwind. Perhaps the wind had covered the lions' approach, or maybe she had slept too soundly. But when she jumped up it was too late. Muffin and Moffet rushed in, mauling her, and in seconds Star was dead." ... "We found Shadow's wizened remains on the parched desert floor. She, like Star, had been killed and eaten by lions." --------------------------- 'A long, drawn-out call, somewhere between a howl and a scream, was heard from the direction of a wind pump. We drove up to investigate and found a pride of two lionesses and five sub-adults 30-40 metres from the nearest cover. One of the Lionesses was carrying a brown hyena by the throat. After walking for 10 metres she dropped the hyena which lay motionless as the rest of the pride gathered around it. The hyena lay motionless for 1 - 2 minutes, the kicked spasmodically. The lioness immediatley straddled it and again bit its throat, holding on for 3 - 4 minutes. When it was released dropped motionless to the ground, appearing to be dead except for the occaisional blinking of its eyes which still reflected the spotlight beam. Since it remained motionless for 10 minutes while the lion pride moved away some 10 metres and lay in a groupm I assumed that the hyena had been suffocated into unconsciousness by the lioness's throat bite.' Later events were to suggest that, on the contrary, the hyena was shamming rather than unconscious. 'The hyena was still motionless to minutes later when one of the sub-adult lions returned to it, rolled it over with a forepaw and wrestled with it like a domestic cat playing with a large rat. As it was thrown into the air the hyena either regained consciousness or stopped shamming, rolled onto its feet and faced the lion with the same scream heard earlier. The lion was deterred long enough for the hyena to turn and run towards the dunes, limping heavily one on foreleg. The whole lion pride pursued it. though apparently rather half-heartedly because their stomachs were full from feeding on an adult blue wildebeest which they had killed the previous night. The hyena reached the sparse bush cover on the dunes well ahead of the lions, who abandoned the chase and returned to rest near the wind pump.' Hyena Nights and Kalahari Days - By Mills & Mills ------------------- http://www.impodimo.com/gallery-3/lion-hunt/ Link for a long picture series, hyena fate unknown. Edited by Canidae, Jun 24 2013, 07:05 AM.
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| Canidae | Jun 17 2012, 09:07 PM Post #10 |
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Omnivore
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Brown Hyena chases and kills steenbok calf. Brown hyena makes a kill If you have read my last sighting on wildwatch you would have read about the 5 brown Hyenas on the kill and how difficult this sighting will be to beat. It Happened. Today while out on the open plains we heard a strange noise which was not a familiar sound to me. We sat quietly and listened until we saw the amazing. A baby steenbok came sprinting out of the bush with a Brown Hyena in hot persuit. The chase was quick and exciting and ended with the steenbok in the hyenas jaws! All the literature on brown hyenas says that it is extremely unusual for a brown hyena to make its own kills. I was lucky enough to witness this rare and special evnt that only a few in the world have ever seen. From here : http://www.wildwatch.com/living_library/beyond-madikwe/brown-hyena-makes-a-kill |
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| Canidae | Jan 6 2013, 09:05 AM Post #11 |
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Omnivore
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Brown Hyaena interactions with other predators : Leopard Leopards have little influence on the brown hyaena population in the southern Kalahari and vice versa. The leopards' habit of taking their kills into trees, means that most of their food remains are unavailable to hyaenas (Fig.2.23). On several occasions a brown hyaena came to a tree in which a leopard kill was hanging and spent several minutes sniffing around the base of a tree, sometimes picking up scraps that had fallen from the carcass. On the few occasions that brown hyaenas and leopards met, they usually showed little interest in each other, merely keeping their distance. Occasionally, one may chase the other a short distance and I once found the remains of a six-month old brown hyaena cub which had been eaten by a leopard. The following is a typical interaction between brown hyaenas and leopards : 9 September 1979. Cubitje Quap. 23.50h. A male leopard is feeding on a scavenged wildebeest carcass when a brown hyaena approaches with its long hair and tail erect. The leopard retreats 20 m and lies down. The brown hyaena starts feeding and is soon joined by another one. Then two hyaenas feed for an hour and a half while the leopard lies close by. When they leave, the leopard returns immediately. After a minute or two one of the hyaenas returns. The leopard continues feeding, growling a little, and the hyaena lies down 10 m away. The leopard drags this carcass away from the hyaenas a few metres, at which the hyaena stands up and advances. The leopard drags the carcass even further away. The hyaena moves closer, the leopard stands, and the hyaena turns around and moves away. Kalahari Hyaenas : Comparative Behaviour and Ecology of two species  http://www.owens-foundation.org/docs/OwensandOwensFeedEcology070309.pdf From 'Cry of the Kalahari' by Owens and Owens : Leopard predation on hyaena cubs. "The cubs occasionally wandered too far from the protection of the den. When Puff was about the size of a small, stocky bulldog, one night she strayed farther away from the den than usual. Loud screams were heard and sounds of a struggle came from the tall grass. By the time we arrived, a leopard was dragging her torn body toward an acacia tree." ... "Cocoa and Toffee also explored away from the den, searching for morsels. One night, just after leaving the den, Toffee, who had always been the most cautious, was grabbed and killed by a leopard. We found his remains stashed high in an acacia tree only 150 yards from the den."  'Beat about the Bush' - O.P'ed by Chui Cheetah Circumstantial evidence suggest that Cheetahs provided hyaenas with a significant amount of food along the Auob River bed. Four adult female cheetahs with cubs, and at least two adult males, inhabited this region in 1979 - 1980, and were frequently seen with springbok kills. The carcass were invariably eaten overnight by brown hyaenas. Along the Nossob River bed the supply of cheetah-killed carcasses was more sporadic as the density of cheetahs was lower. Consequently, I have few direct observations of brown hyaena scavenging from cheetah (Table 2.8). However, several times brown hyaenas scavenged springbok carcasses of unknown origin, and these may well have been cheetah kills. Most of the scavenging by brown hyaenas on cheetah kills was done after the cheetah had left the carcass voluntarily. Only one instance of a direct confrontation between these two species was seen: 28 July 1973, Langklaas. Just after dark a brown hyaena is seen circling down wind from a female cheetah and her three small cubs, which have just started to fee on a springbok carcass. The adult cheetah sees the hyaena and immediately run towards it, while her cubs run off in the opposite direction. As the cat approaches the hyaena, it retreats a few metres, then turns around with mane and tail erect, and runs the cheetah. They clash briefly, and the cheetah slaps and growls at the hyaena. Then the cheetah turns around and runs off in the direction of her cubs, abandoning the carcass to the hyaena. Kalahari Hyaenas : Comparative Behaviour and Ecology of two species  http://www.owens-foundation.org/docs/OwensandOwensFeedEcology070309.pdf   Caracal Caracals are comparatively rare in the southern Kalahari (Table 2.4), but brown hyaenas appropriated three steenbok, two springhares, and one each of a springbok adult, a springbok lamb and an African Wild Cat (Table 2.8) - all containing a large proportion of meat - from caracals. Each time the hyaena merely moved quickly towards the caracal, which withdrew without putting up any resistance. Kalahari Hyaenas : Comparative Behaviour and Ecology of two species Predator-caused mortality Violent mortality in brown hyaena seems to be the most common form of natural mortality, Most of the wounds inflicted were along the back and around the hind region. Such injuries were probably caused by other species of large carnivore, rather than by brown hyaenas, though in the 13 instances where a brown hyaena died after being attacked , lions could only be identified as being responsible on three occasions, and spotted hyaenas once. Two brown hyaenas died through severe neck injuries. These may have been caused though intra-specifc fights, as fighting between brown hyaenas, although usually inhibited, tends to be directed at the neck (section 5.1.2). Kalahari Hyaenas : Comparative Behaviour and Ecology of two species Edited by Canidae, Jun 24 2013, 07:02 AM.
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| Canidae | Jan 29 2013, 06:08 AM Post #12 |
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Omnivore
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Brown Hyaena measurements : Kalahari Male Weight : 40.2 kg - Standard Deviation : 3.0 kg Length (mm) : 1466 - Standard Deviation : 78.7 Heart Girth : 816 Standard Deviation : 36.2 Female Weight 37.6 kg - Standard Deviation : 3.4 Length (mm) : 1399 - Stanard Deviation : 60.1 Heart Girth : 782 - Standard Deviation : 51.2 From an agricultural area of the Transvaal, Skinner & Ilani 1979 reported weights of 47.1 kg for males and 42 kg for females. Kalahari Hyaenas : Comparative Behaviour and Ecology of two species |
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| Full Throttle | Oct 30 2014, 12:56 AM Post #13 |
Apex Predator
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Brown scavenging cheetah:
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| Ceratodromeus | Oct 3 2015, 03:06 AM Post #14 |
Aspiring herpetologist
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Some dietary notes from; Pienaar, U. de V. "Predator-prey relationships amongst the larger mammals of the Kruger National Park." Koedoe 12 (1969): 108-176.
Edited by Ceratodromeus, Jan 17 2016, 12:50 PM.
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| Ceratodromeus | Jan 17 2016, 12:36 PM Post #15 |
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Aspiring herpetologist
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What i found interesting is that that Baboons were found to be pretty commonly found in brown hyena breeding lairs; There is also this interesting bit of information; predation on smaller carnivores -- and bringing them back to these breeding lairs -- appears to be a fairly con sistent behavior.   From the book The Hunters Or the Hunted?: An Introduction to African Cave Taphonomy Edited by Ceratodromeus, Jan 17 2016, 12:37 PM.
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2:20 AM Jul 14
