Hyaena facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hyaena
Striped hyena
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Hyaenidae
Subfamily:	Hyaeninae
Genus:	Hyaena Brisson, 1762
Species
H. brunnea H. hyaena
H. brunnea - blue H. hyaena - green

Hyenas are fascinating mammals that belong to the animal family called Hyaenidae. They are part of the order Carnivora, which includes many meat-eating animals. You can find hyenas living in parts of Africa, and in western and southern Asia. Long ago, they lived in many more places.

Even though there are only four different species of hyenas, they are very important to the places they live. They play a special role in the ecosystems of Africa and Asia. Hyenas walk a bit like bears because their front legs are longer than their back legs. They are also famous for having one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom, which helps them crush bones!

What Makes Hyenas Unique?

Hyenas might look a lot like dogs, but they are actually more closely related to cats and mongooses. This means they are part of the cat-like group of carnivores. Even though they are related to felines, their way of life is quite similar to dogs. This is an example of Convergent evolution, where different animals develop similar traits because they live in similar ways.

Both hyenas and dogs are good at running and hunting on the ground. They catch their food with their teeth, not their claws. They also eat their food quickly and might even store some for later. Their tough feet have large, blunt nails that don't pull back, which is great for running fast and making quick turns. However, when it comes to grooming, marking their territory with scent, and how they raise their young, hyenas are more like other cat-like animals.

Interestingly, hyena groups are often led by females. This means that the females are in charge, and the males usually follow their lead.

How Hyenas Hunt and Find Food

For a long time, people thought hyenas were just shy scavengers that only ate what other animals left behind. But this isn't true! Hyenas, especially spotted hyenas, actually hunt and kill up to 95% of the food they eat. They are strong enough to chase away even leopards or lionesses from their kills.

Hyenas are mostly active at night, but sometimes they leave their dens in the early morning. While spotted hyenas are very social and live in large groups, other hyena species are not as social. They might live in family groups and come together when there's a big meal to share.

Hyenas are very smart animals. They work together well and cooperate when hunting. They use clever strategies to catch their prey and protect it from other predators. Their main targets are animals like zebra and wildebeest. Lions are their biggest rivals, and whether hyenas can chase lions away from a kill often depends on how many hyenas are in the group.

Types of Hyenas

There are four different species of hyenas, divided into two main groups:

• Family Hyaenidae
  • Subfamily Hyaeninae
    • Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
    • Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)
    • Brown hyaena (Hyaena brunnea)
  • Subfamily Protelinae
    • Aardwolf (Proteles cristatus)

Images for kids

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  Skull drawn by V. N. Lyakhov.

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  Dentition, as illustrated in Knight's Sketches in Natural History.

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  Skeleton

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  A pair of striped hyenas fighting at Colchester Zoo.

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  Illustration from Frank Finn's Wild Beasts of the World (1909).

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  Stuffed striped hyena defending a sheep carcass from hooded crows, exhibited in The Museum of Zoology, St. Petersburg.

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  Illustration of striped hyena (top) and spotted hyena (bottom).

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  A wild individual at Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar, Gujarat state, India.

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  Striped hyena pugmark in wet clay, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.

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  A striped hyena, as depicted on the Nile mosaic of Palestrina.

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  Striped hyena scavenging on poultry waste in Dahod district, Gujarat, India.

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  Hyena (1739) by Jean-Baptiste Oudry.

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  A striped hyena being speared in British India, as illustrated in the Illustrated London News.

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  Relief of striped hyenas being force-fed at the tomb of Mereruka

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  A tame striped hyena.

See also

In Spanish: Hiena rayada para niños