WHAT IS THE HYENAS?

The hyena is often called the laughing hyena because of its strange call. The typical male hyena grows to be between 32 and 34 inches and the female is 34 and 35 inches. The average life span is 12 years and the Hyena usually has a maximum lifespan of about twenty five years. The sexual maturity for the Hyena is between 3 and 4 years.



The gestation period for this animal is approximately 4 months and it has anywhere between 1 to 4 pups. The Hyena lives in the Sahara Desert in Africa which is filled by extreme desert conditions. The typical diet for the Hyena are zebras, wildebeest, buffalo and topi. Although many people view the hyena as a scavenger it is mostly a hunter. They can hunt alone or in a group called a clan if they are hunting large prey. The Hyenas closest relative is the mongoose and the cat.

There are three types of hyena species, the spotted, brown and striped hyenas. They also live in groups called clans. These clans are dominated by the larger females and the clans can grow to have up to 70 members. Hyenas are important because they ensure that only the strong grazing animals in the sahara live to produce their offspring. They often eat the sick or weakest prey as they are the easiest to get at. The Hyenas has a digestive system that is very similar to farm pigs because they too are capable of digesting bones, horns and the teeth of prey.