Spotted hyena
This is one of two spotted hyenas that live Colchester Zoo in Essex.
The 5 year old male, Abu, arrived from Amersfoort Zoo in Holland, and Kalabi, a 3 year old female, came from Berlin.
Colchester Zoo feeds the hyenas 4.4 lb. (2 kg) of meat and bone six days of the week. They are given less meat than other carnivores, due to their ability to eat the bones. This imitates the food that they would be hunting in the wild.
A highly misunderstood animal, the species has a largely negative reputation in both Western culture and African folklore. In the former, the species is mostly regarded as ugly and cowardly, while in the latter, it is viewed as greedy, gluttonous, stupid, and foolish, yet powerful and potentially dangerous, but it is actually a intelligent creature. It looks like a dog but is more closely related to cats, civets, and genets. It is a strong and capable hunter and the largest member of the hyena family.
Females and males look exactly the same except that females are considerably larger than males. They have a shoulder height of between 27.5 and 36 in. (70 and 91.5 cm), and are 37.5 to 65.5 in. (95 to 166 cm) in length. They weighing 89 to 141 lb. (40.5 to 64 kg). The animal has a strong and well developed neck and forequarters, but relatively underdeveloped hindquarters. The rump is rounded rather than angular, which prevents attackers coming from behind from getting a firm grip on it. The head is wide and flat with a blunt muzzle and broad rhinarium, the furless skin surface surrounding the the nostrils. It possesses powerful jaws for crunching bones. In contrast to the striped hyena, the spotted hyenas ears are rounded rather than pointed. Each foot has four digits, which are webbed and armed with short, stout, and blunt claws. The paw pads are broad and very flat. The tail is relatively short, being 12 to 14 in. (300 to 350 mm) long, and resembles a pompom in appearance.
Spotted hyenas live in Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Angola, Namibia, and parts of South Africa, though not in the far south or the Congo rainforests. They occur in savannas, open and dense dry woodland, grasslands, mountains, tropical rainforests, semi-deserts, and coastal areas. In the rocky areas of East Africa and Congo, spotted hyenas frequently use caves as dens where they raise their young or rest during the midday heat.
In terms of their social intelligence, spotted hyenas are considered to be close to the same level as certain primates. They have a matriarchal social order of related individuals that are called clans. One alpha female leads the clan.
They are mostly nocturnal, hunting at night, and sleeping or staying near their den in the daytime. Hyenas have excellent night vision and can run at up to 37 mph (60 km/h). They are carnivorous animals that hunt and scavenge. When hunting alone, they prey on smaller animals such as hares, foxes, jackals, birds, fish, and snakes, as well as carrion. In a group, they hunt medium to large-sized hoofed animals like zebra, wildebeest, Grant’s gazelle, Thompson’s gazelle, topi, waterbuck, eland, hartebeest, and impala. They also supplement their diet with eggs, fruit, and invertebrates. Hyenas can eat up to 33 Ib. (15 kg) off of a carcass, including bone and tendons that other carnivore will not eat. This makes hyenas vital to the recycling of nutrients in their savannah ecosystem.
Breeding takes place at any time of the year at intervals of 11 and 21 months. Gestation is about 4 months, and 1 to 3 cubs are born inside a birthing den. The milk of a spotted hyena is very rich, and cubs can last for a few days between feeds, unlike wild dogs and lions. Females have the sole responsibility for bringing up the cubs. At 2 to 6 weeks of age, the cubs are moved by their mother to a communal den. The young are entirely dependent on milk for about 8 months and are weaned at 12 to 18 months old. They reach maturity at the age of 2 to 3 years. Males leave their birth clan at around 2 years old, whereas females remain. Cubs can expect to have a lifespan of between 20 and 40 years.
Whilst most populations of spotted hyenas in protected areas within southern Africa seem to be stable, the ones in western and eastern Africa, including those in protected areas, seem to be declining. The main reason seems to be human persecution through shooting, poisoning, trapping, and snaring, even in protected areas, often in farming areas following actual or assumed killing by hyenas of livestock, or to protect livestock. An additional threat is a decline in habitat quality outside of protected areas.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total spotted hyena population is between 27,000 and 47,000 individuals. The largest known populations are in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania with 7,200 to 7,700 animals, in Kenya with 500 to 1,000 animals, and in South Africa’s Kruger National Park with 1,300 to 3,900 animals. Currently the spotted hyenas conservation status is classified as 'Least Concern', but their numbers today are decreasing.
Spotted hyena
This is one of two spotted hyenas that live Colchester Zoo in Essex.
The 5 year old male, Abu, arrived from Amersfoort Zoo in Holland, and Kalabi, a 3 year old female, came from Berlin.
Colchester Zoo feeds the hyenas 4.4 lb. (2 kg) of meat and bone six days of the week. They are given less meat than other carnivores, due to their ability to eat the bones. This imitates the food that they would be hunting in the wild.
A highly misunderstood animal, the species has a largely negative reputation in both Western culture and African folklore. In the former, the species is mostly regarded as ugly and cowardly, while in the latter, it is viewed as greedy, gluttonous, stupid, and foolish, yet powerful and potentially dangerous, but it is actually a intelligent creature. It looks like a dog but is more closely related to cats, civets, and genets. It is a strong and capable hunter and the largest member of the hyena family.
Females and males look exactly the same except that females are considerably larger than males. They have a shoulder height of between 27.5 and 36 in. (70 and 91.5 cm), and are 37.5 to 65.5 in. (95 to 166 cm) in length. They weighing 89 to 141 lb. (40.5 to 64 kg). The animal has a strong and well developed neck and forequarters, but relatively underdeveloped hindquarters. The rump is rounded rather than angular, which prevents attackers coming from behind from getting a firm grip on it. The head is wide and flat with a blunt muzzle and broad rhinarium, the furless skin surface surrounding the the nostrils. It possesses powerful jaws for crunching bones. In contrast to the striped hyena, the spotted hyenas ears are rounded rather than pointed. Each foot has four digits, which are webbed and armed with short, stout, and blunt claws. The paw pads are broad and very flat. The tail is relatively short, being 12 to 14 in. (300 to 350 mm) long, and resembles a pompom in appearance.
Spotted hyenas live in Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Angola, Namibia, and parts of South Africa, though not in the far south or the Congo rainforests. They occur in savannas, open and dense dry woodland, grasslands, mountains, tropical rainforests, semi-deserts, and coastal areas. In the rocky areas of East Africa and Congo, spotted hyenas frequently use caves as dens where they raise their young or rest during the midday heat.
In terms of their social intelligence, spotted hyenas are considered to be close to the same level as certain primates. They have a matriarchal social order of related individuals that are called clans. One alpha female leads the clan.
They are mostly nocturnal, hunting at night, and sleeping or staying near their den in the daytime. Hyenas have excellent night vision and can run at up to 37 mph (60 km/h). They are carnivorous animals that hunt and scavenge. When hunting alone, they prey on smaller animals such as hares, foxes, jackals, birds, fish, and snakes, as well as carrion. In a group, they hunt medium to large-sized hoofed animals like zebra, wildebeest, Grant’s gazelle, Thompson’s gazelle, topi, waterbuck, eland, hartebeest, and impala. They also supplement their diet with eggs, fruit, and invertebrates. Hyenas can eat up to 33 Ib. (15 kg) off of a carcass, including bone and tendons that other carnivore will not eat. This makes hyenas vital to the recycling of nutrients in their savannah ecosystem.
Breeding takes place at any time of the year at intervals of 11 and 21 months. Gestation is about 4 months, and 1 to 3 cubs are born inside a birthing den. The milk of a spotted hyena is very rich, and cubs can last for a few days between feeds, unlike wild dogs and lions. Females have the sole responsibility for bringing up the cubs. At 2 to 6 weeks of age, the cubs are moved by their mother to a communal den. The young are entirely dependent on milk for about 8 months and are weaned at 12 to 18 months old. They reach maturity at the age of 2 to 3 years. Males leave their birth clan at around 2 years old, whereas females remain. Cubs can expect to have a lifespan of between 20 and 40 years.
Whilst most populations of spotted hyenas in protected areas within southern Africa seem to be stable, the ones in western and eastern Africa, including those in protected areas, seem to be declining. The main reason seems to be human persecution through shooting, poisoning, trapping, and snaring, even in protected areas, often in farming areas following actual or assumed killing by hyenas of livestock, or to protect livestock. An additional threat is a decline in habitat quality outside of protected areas.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total spotted hyena population is between 27,000 and 47,000 individuals. The largest known populations are in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania with 7,200 to 7,700 animals, in Kenya with 500 to 1,000 animals, and in South Africa’s Kruger National Park with 1,300 to 3,900 animals. Currently the spotted hyenas conservation status is classified as 'Least Concern', but their numbers today are decreasing.