Their eyes are open, many of their teeth are fully formed, and they can even pull themselves along the ground with their front paws. Within hours after birth, same-sex siblings begin to battle for dominance. After two to four weeks, the mother brings her offspring to the clan. The clan carefully nurtures and cares for the young, although males participate in parental care less than females. The spotted hyena normally lives in a clan, which can number as many as 80 individuals.
Large clans are especially common where there are large populations of ungulates.
A clan marks its territory by scent marking. Hyenas rest during the day in thick bush or tall grass, in holes dug by other animals or in a den among rocky boulders. Spotted hyenas hunt prey to a greater degree than the other two species of hyena, but they will scavenge if the opportunity presents itself. This is not so much a difference between species as a reflection of their range. For example, spotted hyenas of the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, where populations of ungulates are high, hunt for prey significantly more than they scavenge.