lat.: Crocuta crocuta

Ranging south of the Sahara, it is the largest and most robust of the hyenas, with a length of 1.8 m (5.9 ft) and a height of 90 cm (36 in) at the shoulder. Adults are brown-gray with dark brown or black spots. Named for their cry, which has been compared to hysterical human laughter, they also emit a striking howl that rises in pitch. Spotted hyenas were long thought to be only scavengers (warring African tribes abandoned their dead to the animal).

Hyenas associate in clans centered around communal dens occupied by batches of young at varying stages of growth. Females conceive throughout the year, giving birth after 110 days to one or two cubs, which dig their own tunnels. Pair bonding is not evident; the female, larger than the male, selects her mating partners. The female sexual organs have an external resemblance to the male’s, a phenomenon probably related to scent identification, which plays a large part when clan members encounter one another. A clan may consist of 10 or 12 females, 20 cubs, and a number of males on the fringe; it is strongly territorial

Diet
Carrion, small animals. Recently, hyenas have been found to be among the chief predators of herbivores, especially zebra and wildebeest. The hyenas attack in packs at night, ripping open the flanks of their prey and carrying off the carcasses.

Area
South of Sahara in Namibia, Angola, Botswana, RSA, Zimbabawe, Mozambique

Namibia, Tanzania, Botswana