Big 5 Travel

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Hyenas and wild dogs are some other known predators on the African savannah. Some people think they are related but that is not the case.
Hyenas are actually much more like cats. In fact, they are members of the suborder Feliformia, which is a classification for cat-like carnivores.

Hyenas and wold dogs have different reputations. Wild dogs are endangered, while hyenas have been vilified by popular culture as thieves. Both are efficient hunters, but while wild dogs are known to be very successful hunters and rarely scavenge, hyenas are dedicated scavengers and can get by without hunting if they have to.

Hyena

Wild dogs

HYENA

There are four species in this family and they are almost as diverse as they are alike, with notable differences in habitat, diet, and even characteristics.

They are fairly large in build and have relatively short torsos with lower hindquarters, and sloping backs. They have excellent night-time vision and hearing.

I will write and show more photos about the spotted hyena , the most common hyena in Africa and the one we have spotted on our safari tours in South Africa.

Spotted Hyena

The spotted hyena has a short brown greyish coat with black spots. It has hair on its neck that slopes forward or stands vertically when the hyena is excited.

Spotted hyenas are found in all habitats, including savannas, grasslands, woodlands, forest edges, subdeserts, and even mountains up to 4,000 meters. This hyena species occur throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and are the most numerous large predators in the Serengeti.

Both a scavenger and a hunter

• The spotted hyena has a reputation for eating the leftovers of other predators, but they are also skilled hunters.
• They hunt for survival and will take down wildebeest or antelope. They also prey on birds, lizards, snakes, and insects.
• In the Kruger National Park they kill 50% of their own prey according statistics. Even more in the Kalahari game Reserve and Chobe National Park in Botswana where they kill 70-80% of their own prey.
• The spotted hyena usually hunts alone, but it hunt in packs when going after larger prey.
• It has powerful jaws and eats the bones of the animals it kills.
• Carrion is detected by smell from as far as 4 kilometer downwind. 
• They also find carcasses by the noises made by other predators,  and they keep a look out for vultures.

We have seen hyena several times in the Kruger National Park – either alone, mother with cubs or cubs alone..
Here is a solitary hyena waiting in the bushes under the tree where this leopard has dragged its prey – an impala. The hyena is waiting for getting some leftovers..
If you to see more photos of the leopards, use this link:
two leopards in a tree with prey
( The Kruger National Park, 2019)

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Lifestyle

• Spotted hyenas are organized into territorial clans of related individuals.
• A single clan can have as many as 80 members.
• They mark and patrol their territories by depositing a strong-smelling substance produced by the anal glands on stalks of grass along the boundaries. “Latrines,” places where members of a clan deposit their droppings, also mark territories.
• Spotted hyenas are often called “laughing hyenas” because their giggle vocalization sounds very much like hysterical human laughter. These sounds are actually a complex set of vocalizations, and are used to communicate with other members of their group and those in rival groups. The hyenas are excellent communicators and have quite a rich repertoire of vocal signals.

Cubs

• Mating among hyenas typically happens outside the individual clan, but it only happens after a courtship period of about seven days.
• The female spotted hyena give birth to 1-4 cubs three months after mating and the cubs are born in an underground den dug by the mother.

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• The cubs are born their eyes open and with teeth!
• Cubs inherit the rank of the mother. During the first weeks of a hyena cub’s life they must learn from their mother how and where their position lies within the hierarchy of the clan
• Shortly after birth, cubs that are the same sex begin fighting for dominance!
• As the youngsters grow up, males will often leave to join a different clan, whereas females will remain in the same clan for life.
• Mothers in a clan share the responsibility for rearing cubs as other members go out to hunt. Mothers even nurse each other’s cubs when the respective members are away.
• Cubs nurse for a year and eat nothing but their mother’s milk for the first six months of their lives. They are considered mature after two years.

Other hyena facts

• The female hyena is bigger, more aggressive and more muscular than the male
• Female hyenas have more testosterone than males
• Unlike lions, which are the top of the pecking order, male hyenas fight for space from aggressive females and are the bottom of hyena’s packs
• A spotted hyena’s heart is twice the weight of a lion’s, in proportion to its body mass. This gives it enough stamina to pursue its prey for up to 5 km
• Of all predators, the hyena is the only one with a jaw strong enough to rip not only elephant hide, but to crush elephant bone.

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More of the meeting with two females with cubs, Kruger national park:
They were lying right on a gravel road, the den was probably close by. They really had a relaxing time, and when they noticed us, they did not go away. The mother stretched, and two of the cubs came after. We watched them for a while. It was fascinating to see the caring mother with those cute little cubs!

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Twice in the Kruger National Park we have met a lonely cubs by the roadside. No mother to look after them.

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This one was alone and very curios and came toward the cars, maybe it was hungry, wanting some food?

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From our last visit in the Kruger National Park, Dec 2019:

Just before leaving the park for the evening – a hyena crossed the road in front of us. It stopped and turned as if waiting for someone, and yes – shortly after, two young hyenas followed her.

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AFRICAN WILD DOGS

The African wild dog is also called Cape hunting dog and painted dog, and its scientific name, Lycaon pictus, actually mean “painted wolf”. The Latin name is referring to its beautiful spotted coats of black, brown, white and yellow. Each animal has its own unique coat pattern.

African wild dogs typically roam the open plains and sparse woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa, including Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Lifestyle

African wild dogs are very social and live in packs consisting of two to 27 adults and yearling pups.
We have seen African wild dogs several times on safari in the Kruger National Park. It is always exciting coming across a large pack of these graceful animals. The typical pack size we have seen is 7 to 9 adults.

The packs are led by a dominant male and female. All other members of the pack play a subordinate role to the alpha pair. 

Within the pack, they have a unique social structure. They cooperate in taking care of the wounded and sick members, there is a general lack of aggression exhibited between members of the pack, and there is little intimidation among the social hierarchy.

Pups

The alpha pair are the only individuals responsible for reproducing and re-establishing the next generation of wild dogs within the pack.
Litters typically consist of between 4 and 12 pups.
All the dogs within the pack contribute towards the care of the newly born pups, as the pups are vital for the future survival of the pack.
Occasionally non-alpha females will have pups. This can result in female having to raise the pups alone, but sometimes packs will raise both litters.

Hunting

Both Hyena and Wild Dogs are efficient hunters, but while wild dogs are known to be very successful hunters and rarely scavenge, hyenas are dedicated scavengers and can get by without hunting if they have to.

Wild dogs hunt in packs and for a wide variety of prey, including gazelles and other antelopes, warthogs, wildebeest calves, rats, and birds. Hunting success varies with prey type, vegetation cover and pack size, but African wild dogs tend to be very successful, often with greater than 60% of their chases ending in a kill, sometimes up to 90%.

Wild dogs are high-stamina hunters, capable of maintaining a 40km/h pace over five kilometres and increasing this to bursts of more than 60km/h for short distances. The pack splits up during the hunt, with some dogs trying to drive the fleeing prey in a circle towards the others.

Once they make a kill, the African wild dog pack quickly consumes its meal, but in a rather orderly fashion, to avoid any run-ins with lions or hyenas.

The African wild dog has the ability to defend itself when they outnumber a lone lion or one or two hyenas. African wild dogs that become the injured casualties of hyena and lion attacks receive help from the other members of their pack. The hurt dog will receive its portion of meat to consume until it is healthy and other dogs will actually lick its wounds to help them heal quicker

Other Wild Dogs facts:

• Unlike domestic dogs, wild dogs have long legs, four toes on their front feet and large, rounded ears. Though both species descended from wolves, they are unable to interbreed, and wild dogs can’t be domesticated.
• Wild dogs communicate with one another through touch, tail wags and a variety of vocalizations that include a short bark (which can signify alarm), a howl (which rallies the wild dogs together), and a bell-like sound which can be heard over long distances.
• Wild dogs are a nomadic species with home ranges of 200-1000 square kilometers. They only use a den for a short period of time to avoid parasite build-up, unwanted attention from lions, and to follow abundant sources of prey.
• The African Wild Dog is Africa’s most endangered predator with only between 3000 and 5000 left in the wild. Numbers have radically declined across Southern Africa due to habitat loss, poaching, diseases and threats from other predators.
• WWF is working to protect the wild dog by preserving wildlife corridors between reserves and reducing conflicts with locals.

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