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  • 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 labeled as sole scavengers by many. They live in clans which are completely dominated by females. They often raise their pups in dens under the ground. Females and males look very similar, but females are generally larger.
 

Spotted hyaenas are very social:

spotted hyaena

  

spotted hyaena
Males
  
Females
Shoulder height: ±84 cm / 33 in
 
Shoulder height: ±86 cm / 34 in
Weight: ±60 kg / 132 lbs
 
Weight: ±70 kg / 154 lbs
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 sotted 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 do frequently scavenge, they also hunt a lot of the prey themselves by chasing them down in a manner similar to wild dogs. They will scavenge anything they can get, but will generally hunt small prey like impala or the young of larger herbivores. They can, however, take down adult blue wildebeest and zebra if they hunt together.
Gestation:

±110 days
Cubs:

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 males, accept for the dominant female's male offspring. Clans may consist of as few as 5 individuals to as many as 25 or more individuals.
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. You are bound to find them here time after time!

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 mornings 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



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