Two Hyena Pups
Masai Mara National Reserve
Kenya
East Africa
Two hyena mothers were nursing their cubs right out in the open as we were traveling along one of the roads. There were about six pups altogether between the two mothers who were lying down right next to each other. The pups started to intermingle, and soon they were playing and chasing each other around. I was able to photograph the activity without any apparent concern from the mothers. This was the first time for me seeing these rascals in the wild.
The spotted hyena is the most social of the Carnivora in that it has the largest group sizes and most complex social behaviours. Its social organisation is unlike that of any other carnivore, bearing closer resemblance to that of cercopithecine primates (baboons and macaques) with respect to group-size, hierarchical structure, and frequency of social interaction among both kin and unrelated group-mates.
Cubs are born with soft, brownish black hair, and weigh 1.5 kg on average. Unique among carnivorous mammals, spotted hyenas are also born with their eyes open and with 6–7 mm long canine teeth and 4 mm long incisors. Also, cubs will attack each other shortly after birth. This is particularly apparent in same sexed litters, and can result in the death of the weaker cub. - Wikipedia
Two Hyena Pups
Masai Mara National Reserve
Kenya
East Africa
Two hyena mothers were nursing their cubs right out in the open as we were traveling along one of the roads. There were about six pups altogether between the two mothers who were lying down right next to each other. The pups started to intermingle, and soon they were playing and chasing each other around. I was able to photograph the activity without any apparent concern from the mothers. This was the first time for me seeing these rascals in the wild.
The spotted hyena is the most social of the Carnivora in that it has the largest group sizes and most complex social behaviours. Its social organisation is unlike that of any other carnivore, bearing closer resemblance to that of cercopithecine primates (baboons and macaques) with respect to group-size, hierarchical structure, and frequency of social interaction among both kin and unrelated group-mates.
Cubs are born with soft, brownish black hair, and weigh 1.5 kg on average. Unique among carnivorous mammals, spotted hyenas are also born with their eyes open and with 6–7 mm long canine teeth and 4 mm long incisors. Also, cubs will attack each other shortly after birth. This is particularly apparent in same sexed litters, and can result in the death of the weaker cub. - Wikipedia