Spotted Hyena

Crocuta crocuta

Very Easy (Promiscuous)

The **Spotted Hyena** (*Crocuta crocuta*) is a mid-sized African mammal featured in the Standard Edition of *Planet Zoo*.

## Zoopedia Description

### General

**Population in the Wild:** 27,000-47,000

The spotted hyena, also known as the laughing hyena (Crocuta crocuta), is native to Sub-Saharan Africa. They are generalist predators that can live in most environments - although they are not found in rainforests or deserts - and their strong forelimbs, well-muscled neck, and comparatively weaker hind limbs give them a distinctive appearance. Their head is broad with a wide snout and they have sandy fur with black spots, as well as a mane down their neck to their mid back.

It is not an endangered species, although they are affected by habitat loss through human encroachment and also persecution by farmers attempting to protect their livestock. They are not vulnerable to trophy hunting as they are largely regarded as an unattractive animal, but they are poached for their body parts which are used in traditional medicine. They are protected when their range falls into the boundaries of a National Park, and some African countries have legislation marking the spotted hyena as a protected species, but in other areas they are regarded as vermin.

### Social

Hyenas are social animals that live in 'clans' of related females, immigrant males and their cubs. They have a communal den which as many as 90 spotted hyenas share for sleeping, mating and giving birth. When individuals leave the den to hunt and roam, they spend this time alone or in small groups of 2 to 4.

### Reproduction

In a clan of spotted hyenas the females are interrelated, while unrelated males migrate into the group. Males gain favour with females by being submissive and friendly, and once trust has been established, females may allow males to mate with them. A female will give birth to 1 or 2 cubs over which she is very protective; male cubs remain with their mother's clan until they are around 2.5 years old, at which point they will leave and attempt to join an unrelated clan. Females remain with their mother's group for their entire lives.

 FEEDING STATIONS
 FOOD ENRICHMENT
Pinata Enrichment · Dog Ball · Bamboo Feeder · Rotation Line Feeder
Cardboard Box · Blood Scent Marker · Chew Toy · Gift Box · Large Ball · Large Snow Ball · Prey-Scented Sack · Sprinkler

## Trivia

### Zoopedia Fun Facts

1. The spotted hyena's 'laugh' is a distress call that a hyena gives when it is being chased or attacked. Despite popular perception, spotted hyenas are formidable predators, not scavengers.
2. Hyenas are the only members of the order 'Carnivora' that give birth to young with open eyes and fully developed teeth.
3. Females are larger than males and dominate in spotted hyena society, they are hypermasculinised; their external reproductive parts look male.
4. Spotted hyenas are extremely intelligent; their group cooperation and skill learning abilities are on par with chimpanzees.
5. Spotted hyenas have an extremely strong bite that allows them to crush bone, being stronger than a lion's.

### Other trivia

* Spotted hyenas are known to be dangerous and aggressive towards humans, in 1962, a pair of spotted hyenas attacked and killed 27 people in Malawi.
* Spotted hyenas have some of the strongest gastric acid in their stomachs in the animal kingdom, capable of digesting all the tougher body parts of an animal carcass, including bones, teeth, hair, hooves, horns, and skin and allows them to consume nearly 100% of a carcass.
* The spotted hyena is a member of its own animal family, Hyaenidae, which also includes the three other hyena species, the striped hyena, brown hyena, and the aardwolf, but closely related to the cat family, Felidae, and the mongoose family, Herpestidae.