Hyenas

**Hyenas** are mammals that appear in *The Lion King* universe. They live in the Outlands.

## Appearance

### In the Real World

Spotted hyenas are usually sandy-colored, pale grayish-brown, or ginger, with black or dark brown spots. Their eyes are brown, and the fur on their muzzles is dark. They have blunt muzzles, short tails, and thick necks. Unlike other hyena species, spotted hyenas have round ears.

### In *The Lion King*

The hyenas in *The Lion Guard*share the physical features of spotted hyenas in the real world, but typically have gray fur with a pattern of darker markings on their shoulders and back. They have darker muzzles, ears, and paws and lighter underbellies. Their eyes are usually black, with the exception of Jasiri. Most, like Cheezi and Chungu, have round ears, but others, such as Janja, have pointed ears.

All hyenas have a liking of jokes and witticism. And all the males have a habit of using double-negatives.

## Information

### In the Real World

Hyenas live in groups known as clans, which can consist of up to eighty individuals. They are female-dominant. While hyenas are one of the most socially tight-knit predators, they also have very rigid and nepotistic hierarchy in which not only size and brute strength, but also ancestry and ally networks have significant influence in a hyena's rank in the clan. These rankings rarely change though once they have been established. This hierarchy is formed minutes after birth, as hyenas are the only carnivores born with their teeth ready and eyes open. If the cubs are of the same sex, they will start fighting each other minutes after birth for dominance. If they are of a different sex, then the male will usually submit to the female sibling without struggling.

Hyenas are exceptionally intelligent when it comes to working together, being the most intelligent members of the Carnivora order, and hunt down most of their food, despite their reputation as scavengers. They are also famous for having the strongest jaws of all carnivores, being easily able to break, eat and digest hard materials like bones, hooves and teeth.

Hyenas are well-known for the "laughing" sound that they produce. In reality, this call is not emitted out of amusement, but as a result of stress or fear. Hyenas have been observed "laughing" when they are being attacked or chased from a kill.

### In *The Lion King*

A male named Janja is the leader of his clan, which implies that hyenas can lead their clans regardless of their sex. The majority of hyenas respect the Circle of Life and those who take part in it do so by eating the left-overs from lions and other predators, as Jasiri and Ono explain on separate occasions, and scavenge more then they hunt, unlike real and rogue hyenas like Janja's clan. Despite this, they are feared throughout the Pride Lands and are generally forbidden to live in said region, with the notable exception of Cheezi and Chungu who were brief residents of the Pride Lands before returning back to the Outlands.

## Notable Hyenas In The Lion King & Lion Guard

* **The Hyena Clan**
	+ **Shenzi**
	+ **Banzai**
	+ **Ed**

* **Janja's Clan**
	+ **Janja**
	+ **Cheezi**
	+ **Chungu**
	+ **Nne**
	+ **Tano**

* **Jasiri's Clan**
	+ **Jasiri**
	+ **Madoa**
	+ **Wema**
	+ **Tunu**

## Trivia

* A hyena's laugh can be heard up to three miles away.
* Although they look like dogs, hyenas are actually phylogenetically closer to cats. Both hyenas and felines belong to Feliformia, one of two suborders within the Carnivora order (the other suborder is Caniformia, which canines belong in).
* Other kinds of hyenas living today are striped hyenas, brown hyenas, and aardwolves.