Twelve hyena facts, fact-checked
Few animals are as consistently misrepresented as the hyena. Full profile in our hyena guide.
1. They are not dogs
Hyenas belong to Feliformia, the cat branch of Carnivora, alongside civets and mongooses. The resemblance to dogs is convergent.
2. They hunt most of what they eat
Spotted hyenas kill the majority of their food. Lions scavenge from hyenas at least as often as the reverse.
3. Females dominate
Spotted hyena clans are matriarchal, with every female outranking every male, and rank inherited from the mother.
4. Clans can exceed 80 animals
Complex fission-fusion societies requiring individuals to track many relationships.
5. The laugh is not amusement
The giggle signals stress, excitement or social conflict, and its pitch and variation encode the caller's age and rank.
6. Their bite crushes bone
Powerful jaws and specialised teeth process bone that other carnivores leave, and their digestion extracts nutrition from it.
7. Whoops carry 5 km
Long-distance calls used to locate clan members across a territory.
8. Females have unusual anatomy
An elongated clitoris through which they urinate, mate and give birth — a first birth is dangerous and often fatal to the cub.
9. There are four species
Spotted, striped, brown and the aardwolf — which eats termites, not carrion.
10. They are highly intelligent
In cooperative problem-solving tests, hyena pairs have outperformed chimpanzees on some tasks.
11. Cubs are born with teeth and open eyes
Unusually developed, and siblings may fight seriously from birth.
12. Persecution is the main threat
Killed as livestock predators and pest animals, and used in traditional medicine. The striped hyena is Near Threatened.
Read the full hyena wildlife guide for IUCN status, population context and sources — or donate to WARN to help fund the partner teams protecting wildlife on the ground.
