The ground color is yellowish gray, and the round markings on the body are dark brown to black. There is no mane, or only a slight one. The jaws are probably the most powerful, in proportion to size, of any living mammal's. From Hyaena, Crocuta differs in its larger size, shorter ears, paler and spotted coat, larger and more swollen braincase, and greatly reduced upper molar tooth. Both sexes have two anal scent glands that empty into the rectum.
Females usually have a single pair of mammae.
It is especially common in dry acacia bush, open plains, and rocky country. It is found at elevations of up to 4,000 meters. Crocuta is probably the most numerous of the large African predators, because of its ability quickly to eat and digest entire carcasses, including skin and bones, and because the plasticity of its behavior allows it to function effectively either as a solitary scavenger and predator of small animals or as a group-living hunter of ungulates. Dens vary greatly in size, sometimes accommodating entire communities of hyenas. They are usually in abandoned aardvark holes but may also be in natural caves.