• Mammals |
  • Predators |
  • Spotted hyaena


Spotted hyaena

(Crocuta crocuta)

lion

Spotted hyaenas are disliked by many people and are probably one of the most misunderstood predators around. They are extremely social and very good hunters, despite being labelled as scavengers by many. They live in female-dominated clan, and often raise their pups in dens under the ground. Females and males look very similar, but females tend to be larger.
 

Spotted hyaenas are very social:

spotted hyaena

  

spotted hyaena
Males
  
Females
Shoulder height: ±84cm / 33in
 
Shoulder height: ±86cm / 34in
Weight: ±60kg / 132lbs
 
Weight: ±70kg / 154lbs
Main clan role: Mating and dispersing
 
Main clan role: Hunting, defending territories and raising pups
Features: Slightly smaller than females
 
Features: Slightly larger than males with "false" male sexual organs


More spotted hyaena facts:

Habitat:

Spotted hyaenas occur throughout most of the Kruger National Park habitats

Active:

Spotted hyaenas are mostly active at night

Food:

Although spotted hyaenas frequently scavenge, they also hunt a lot themselves by chasing prey down in a manner similar to wild dogs. They will scavenge anything they can get, but usually hunt small prey like impala or the young of larger herbivores. They can, however, take down an adult blue wildebeest or zebra if they hunt together.

Gestation:

±110 days

Pups:

1-4 pups (generally 2)

Weaned:

Up to a year

Clans:

Dominated by a single female; her offspring will inherit dominance. All females are more dominant than any male, except for the dominant female's male offspring. Clans may consist of as few as 5 to as many as 25 or more.

In Kruger:

To learn more about how to find spotted hyaenas in Kruger, check out the right-hand sidebar.


Back to main mammals page

How to find spotted hyaenas in the Kruger National Park:

leopard

Stay at these camps:
Satara
Lower Sabie
Crocodile Bridge
Berg-en-Dal

Drive these roads:
H4-2 tar road
S137 gravel road
H6 tar road
H11 tar road

Top tips:
Find out from guides or other visitors where they have seen hyaena dens, where you are bound to find them.

A night drive should give you a good chance of seeing spotted hyaenas in most areas.

If you do a self-drive, search for them early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

Spotted hyaenas often scavenge from carcasses, so if you find one, make sure to go past again at a later stage.

Check out our predator gallery:predator gallery



© Copyright 2012 go!
Incorrect username or password

Forgot password?

If you register you can:

  • Share your travel stories and tips
  • Upload your photos
  • Talk to other Go readers online
  • Seek advice
  • Save all your web favourites
  • Participate in the Go test panel