Brown Hyena, Hyaena brunnea

WHAT IT IS

A dark, shaggy hyena that looks something like a German shepherd, southern version of the striped hyena. Male wt 86 lb (39 kg), ht 28-35 in (71-87 cm). Head: broad, short muzzle with big teeth; long, pointed ears. Coat: mantle of long hair along back overlying shorter-haired torso and obscuring markings. Color: dark brown with black stripes, legs yellow-brown, striped; mane straw-colored; juveniles gray, markings unobscured by mane.

WHERE IT LIVES

South of Zambezi River in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and southern Angola, Exterminated in South Africa except northernmost Transvaal and Cape Province.

ECOLOGY

The dominant large carnivore in more arid parts of Kalahari and Namib Desert. It scavenges a living along the Atlantic shoreline, where it is called "strandloper".
An opportunistic forager that prefers meat but makes do with fruits and vegetables, marine organisms, insects, and other invertebrates. Takes vertebrate prey up to size of young antelopes, but of some 58 different kinds of food identified in scats, vertebrate prey it had killed accounted for less than 6% by weight. In rainy season, when antelopes and zebras disperse over the Kalahari, remains of lion, leopard, and cheetah kills are major food source. In dry season, carrion in diet drops sharply while percentage of fruits and vegetables rises. Tsama and other melons are main source of moisture for 8 waterless months, but also eaten when hyenas are able to drink from rainwater pools.

ACTIVITY

During dry season brown hyenas actively forage nearly 10 of 12 night hours, gleaning mostly small food items while traveling up to 19 mi (30 km). During rains they forage and travel less.

SOCIAL/MATING SYSTEM

Multimale territorial clans, but females breed with nomadic males. Six clans of brown hyenas studied in the subdesert Kalahari Gemsbok NP contained 4 to 14 members, including 1 to 4 adult females, 0 to 3 adult males, 0 to 5 subadults, and 0 to 4 young. These clans occupied huge ranges of 91 to 185 miles square (average 127 miles square [330 km square]). A clan of 13 hyenas studied in the less arid Central Kalahari GR occupied a range of 39 miles square (102 km square). Female and some male offspring remain with their natal clan after maturing at 2.5 years. Male emigrants either join another clan (as do occasional emigrant females) or become nomads. Nomads, representing 1/3 of the adult males and 8% of the population, do most of the breeding; resident males rarely show any sexual interest in clan females.
A rank order keeps each clan member in its place, as indicated by displays of dominance and submission. All members scent-post and defend the territory against same-sex hyenas of neighboring clan, but show little antagonism to nomads. One clan of 3 males and 2 females made an estimated 145,000 anal-pouch deposits in a year throughout its territory, of which 20,000 would be potent at any given time.

Foraging/Predatory Behavior

A foraging individual pursues small game it flushes but only a short distance; only 1 in 6 to 1 in 10 attempts to catch prey succeed. Sometimes stalks a bird or hare but rarely tries to move quietly. Hyenas that meet at carcasses of large animals are surprisingly tolerant-especially of the opposite sex. However, no more than 3 hyenas feed together; extras have to wait their turn.
Brown hyenas regularly cache surplus food, in a grass clump or hole 100 to 600 yds from the source, to be retrieved and eaten usually early the following night. Other scavengers rarely find caches, even though cacher scent-marks grass and bushes within 15 to 20 yd of cache sites. Alternatively, small scavenged items are carried an average distance of 4 mi (6.4 km) back to the den.

REPRODUCTION

Nonseasonal and unsynchronized within clans, resulting in offspring of assorted ages; typically 3/litter (range 1-4); gestation c. 90 days. Minimum breeding age 2.5 years. Females mate with different nomadic males during the second half of 2-week estrus.

OFFSPRING AND MATERNAL CARE

Females isolate before whelping and spend up to 5 hours/night attending small cubs during 2 visits to natal den. After cubs start eating solid food at 3 months, mother brings them to communal den, which may be in continuous use for several years; thereafter attends cubs only once a night. juveniles older than 8 months are left unattended for 2 to 3 nights. Communal suckling by all lactating females, on a first-come, first-served basis, and food brought to the den by helpers keep cubs from fasting. Brown hyenas nurse 25 to 30 minutes, continue to receive milk for at least 10 months, and are weaned completely only at 15 months. Presence of older youngsters and small-bore tunnels make adult babysitters redundant. Youngsters too big to enter tunnels rely on defensive threat display. At 14 months they begin solitary foraging and may sleep away from den, but keep coming back through second year to socialize, play, and get free lunch.

RELATIONS WITH OTHER PREDATORS

See striped hyena account.

DIFFERENCES IN BROWW HYENA BEHAVIOR

Expect to see and hear Usual context and meaning

Scent-marking

Pasting with anal pouch: two different secretions on same grass stem: the usual white pomade and a watery black secretion. Foraging hyenas paste grass and bushes 4-6 times/mi. White secretion is detectable by humans for at least a month, while black secretion c>dor fades rapidly. Apart from territorial function, marks identify individual and how long ago it marked, enabling clan members to avoid places another hyena has already foraged.

Aggression/Submission

Neck-biting: aggressor holding on and biting, while victim yells and growls but refrains from biting back. The usual one-sided aggression, most severe between territorial neighbors of same sex. Within clans, recurrent neck biting of subadults by same-sex adult ends with subadults emigrating.

Jaw-wresding fight. Develops from mutual efforts to neck-bite; usually seen only in play between immature hyenas.

Carpal-crawling and begging calls. Submissive behaviors often used to gain access to carcass where another hyena is feeding, or to induce a hyena carrying food to surrender it.

Sociable Behavior

Clan members socializing around communal den. Young of all ages lie in contact, social-groom, and play together.

Play

Play fights feature jaw wrestling and neck biting,/shaking so rough that all cubs acquire neck scars.

Reprinted from "The Safari Companion" by Richard Estes
Spook Skelton wildlife