Spotted hyena (scientific name: Crocuta crocuta): Also known as spotted hyena, its body length is about 95- 160 cm, its tail length is 25-36 cm, and its weight is 40-86 kg. Females are significantly larger than males. The coat color is khaki or brown, with brown patches and short or no mane. The canine teeth on the upper forehead are undeveloped, but the lower jaw is strong, which can drag away 90 kilograms of prey 100 meters.
Group activities, about 80 people in each group, mainly male individuals in the group. Fierce, can prey on zebras, wildebeests, impala and other large and medium-sized herbivores, and can compete with lions. The ability of eating and digesting is extremely strong, and a bone can swallow 15 kg of prey at a time. Good at running, with a speed of 40-50 kilometers per hour and a top speed of 60 kilometers per hour. It can breed all year round, but the peak of litter is in rainy season, and the gestation period is 1 10 days, with 2 litters. The male is 2 years old and the female is 3 years old.
Spotted hyenas are mainly distributed in the vast areas of sub-Saharan Africa, living in tropical, subtropical grasslands and semi-desert areas, with a large number.
gingkgo
Crokuta
Latin scientific name
Crokuta
Another name
Spotted hyena
boundary
animal kingdom
door
Chordata
Botanical history
German naturalist Johann Christian Polycarp Elkes Leben first described hyenas officially in 1777. The ancient Greek root of the scientific name of hyenas was used by gaius plinius secundus to describe an unknown animal in Ethiopia, which may be hyenas. This root is the scientific name of crocus, which was a yellow dye in ancient times. In literature, it means "crocus-colored object".
Although spotted hyenas are a bit like canines, they are actually closer to civets. Spotted hyenas belong to cat suborder, so they are closer to cats than canines. Hyenas are the largest members of Hyenaidae at present. It is believed that the ancestors of hyenas originated from the hyenas of Pliocene (533-65438+800,000 years ago). Because saber-toothed tigers began to disappear at that time and were replaced by cats with shorter teeth, some hyenas began to hunt by themselves and evolved into new species, including today's hyenas.
The backbone of evolution was in Palaearctic realm and Africa, and in the middle Miocene, early specialized middle hyenas appeared. Hyenas flourished in the late Miocene; The emergence of Cenozoic genera.
morphological character
The total length of the spotted hyena is1.3-1.85m, the tail length is 25-36cm, the male weight is 45-63kg, and the female weight is 55-82.5kg.. Female individuals are significantly larger than males and weigh more than 14%. Spotted hyenas have high shoulders, strong front and sloping back. Hair is short and thick, and its color is khaki, brown, sandy, ginger, dark gray or brown. It is named after black or brown patches and spots on the back, sides, buttocks and legs. These irregular black spots will fade with age. Black nose. They have long and strong necks and rough manes. The tail is short, dark brown and thick.
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Crokuta
The body is like a dog, with a long neck, shorter hind limbs than forelimbs, shorter body, higher shoulders and lower hips; Long hair on the midline of the neck and back; The teeth are large, with thick conical premolars, developed cracked teeth and degenerated molars. The jaw is thick and strong, and can bite open bones.
Hyenas are the second largest carnivore in Africa after lions. They have incredibly powerful jaws and teeth, which enable them to crush heavy bones and obtain nutritious bone marrow.
habitat
Habitat in many types of open or dry environment, such as semi-desert, savanna, woodland, acacia jungle and mountain forest, is an uncommon dense forest habitat. [2] Don't live in the coastal rain forest in west or central Africa. In West Africa, this species likes the grasslands of Guinea and Sudan. In eastern Africa and Ethiopia, the vertical height reaches 4000 meters above sea level.
Living habits
A nation of the same species and culture
A group of hyenas can be composed of 5-90, led by a female. The life of the ethnic group revolves around the nest, and only the cubs live in the nest. Every nation is a permanent social group. Ethnic groups are influenced by complex social classes, and even cubs can recognize this concept before they learn to walk. Females are the main members, followed by cubs, and adult males are the lowest. Their society is highly structured and dominated by matrilineal genealogy (that is, women born to single mothers). Their social behavior is very complicated, often involving alliances and transferring contacts. In this respect, hyenas are more like many old world primates than other carnivores. Male hyenas leave the group at about 2 years old, while females stay in the group where they were born.
The lower-ranking members of the group will lick the sex organs of the higher-ranking females as a sign of continuous submission. Males of all ethnic groups lick the sexual organs of female leaders. Because the male at the top is below the female at the bottom, few female hyenas lick the male penis.
Females tend to mate with males of other races to prevent inbreeding. Female hyenas rarely mate with aggressive male hyenas. On the contrary, calm and obedient males will be selected. Patience is very important, because sometimes courtship can last as long as 1 year. Therefore, men who are superior and impatient will find it difficult to find a partner. Although courtship is complicated, females will raise their big cubs. Killing cubs is common, and other females (their mother's sisters) will kill them.
Hyenas of the same ethnic group rarely fight with each other until they are seriously injured. Many quarrels will be settled soon. It's enough to yell a little or bite each other, but if the fight gets out of control, high-level hyenas will do something to stop it. Even unknown hyenas try to avoid fighting or killing each other. The scent tag left by hyenas can also prevent disputes: if hyenas need to enter the territory of hostile hyenas, they will keep a low profile and try to stay at the border. There is a strong sense of hostility between females, because males of different races have the function of mating. Strange hyenas are rarely accepted by the ethnic group, but if they are accepted, they will only be the lowest in the ethnic group. If a large-scale confrontation occurs, such as with lions or other hyenas, hyenas will build a "wall" side by side and attack each other.
Like many other carnivores, spotted hyenas like to play, especially when they are young. Hyenas can be tamed, but many African aborigines and Europeans living in Africa can successfully domesticate hyenas.
Spotted hyenas excrete oily substances to distinguish their territory. Their anal bags will turn outwards, forming a posture of obeying the leader. They will also grasp the substances secreted on the ground with their claws to form the boundary of the smell.
Rounding up and hunting
The spotted hyena is Nocturnal Animals. They rest in grass or caves during the day, wander around at night and forage everywhere. They hunt alone, in groups or together, and sometimes 40-60 animals hunt large animals such as zebras and bison in an organized way.
Although spotted hyenas are suitable for a carrion-eating lifestyle, most of their food comes from hunting. Their teeth are not specially used for carrion, but have developed into more "all-round". It seems that hyenas prefer medium-sized ungulates (such as wildebeest or zebra) to large animals (such as African buffalo) or small animals (such as Down's gazelle). Unlike wolves, hyenas choose their prey more by sight than by smell. Based on the hunting method, spotted hyenas generally choose animals with lower physical fitness in the group. The hunting pattern of spotted hyenas is similar to that of African wild dogs. They will chase their prey for a long time until they are tired. When hunting large prey, hyenas will bite the prey's lower body and tear its abdomen. Generally, they will eat viscera and foot muscles first. If the prey is a pregnant female, they will eat the fetus first and then the head. A Dalmatian can eat 14.5 kg of meat at a time, which is almost one third of their weight. This food intake is very high in mammals.
When hyenas collectively catch prey, they will rush in and bite the belly, neck, limbs and various parts of their bodies. In order to prevent lions from plundering their food, the whole group of hyenas wolfed down the meal together. Within a few minutes, the prey was divided up by them.
When spotted hyenas prey, they will adopt different tactics according to different situations. Spotted hyenas often attack wildebeests at night. After chasing them for 2-3 kilometers at a speed of 40-50 kilometers per hour, disperse the horses, quickly surround a wildebeest, and bite the nose, legs or waist of the wildebeest with powerful dog teeth until the wildebeest suffocates.
Spotted hyenas usually keep a speed of 60 kilometers per hour and chase adult angle motors 5 kilometers away. Spotted hyenas usually chase prey, but it's different if they are prey with high resistance. Wildebeests sometimes escape into the water to avoid being chased, but this does not prevent spotted hyenas from hunting. They often succeed in hunting. Although hyenas usually hunt in packs, one hyena is actually enough to kill adult male wildebeests. 75% of hyenas hunt alone, but the success rate of hunting alone is only 26%, which is dwarfed by the success rate of 2-4 hyenas in groups of 46%. In the face of hunting zebras, another skill is needed, because zebras are a whole group when they escape, and the zebras they lead will fiercely protect their companions. It usually takes 10-25 spotted hyenas to hunt zebras. They will hunt in crescent formation. Hunting is often slow, and the speed is only about 15-30 kilometers per hour. Zebras will try to get between hyenas and zebras. Once a zebra falls behind the horses, hyenas will jump up, which usually takes 3 kilometers to catch. Although hyenas will harass the zebra they lead, their purpose is actually to distract it, and the target is always in the zebra herd.
food
Due to different habitats, spotted hyenas rarely attack African buffaloes, but there are still reports that they killed an adult male buffalo. Spotted hyenas also prey on other animals, including fish, turtles, black rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elephants, crocodiles, pangolins, honey badgers, wolves, lions, livestock, dogs and humans.
Spotted hyenas eat more carrion during the day, so they attract vultures at the same time. They are also closer to lions or humans than other African predators. They sometimes collect food. It is reported that some hyenas hide food in the water. Spotted hyenas drink very little water, usually for less than 30 seconds.
Their digestive system has strong stomach acid, which can help them completely digest the whole prey, including their skin, teeth, horns, bones and hooves. Due to the intake of a lot of calcium, their feces have a hard shell and are white. In addition, they can absorb nutrients from mummies. Hyenas spit out indigestible parts. In the breeding season of wildebeest, too many prey are captured, and hyenas will only choose some parts to eat, so many abandoned bones will be found in its dense places. Spotted hyenas will scramble to eat their prey, but they will compete rather than fight at the speed of eating.
natural enemy
The complexity and density of the relationship between hyenas and lions are unique. Lions and hyenas are both top predators, hunting the same animal, so there is actually a direct conflict. So they will fight with each other and steal each other's prey. In Ngorongoro Nature Reserve in Tanzania, the number of hyenas greatly exceeds the number of lions, so in fact, it is often lions who steal hyenas' prey, not what people think is that hyenas steal lions' prey.
The fight between hyenas and lions is often over territory rather than food. The territory of many animals will only resist the same animal and ignore another animal. But the territory of hyenas and lions is against each other, as if against the same species. Lions are very aggressive towards hyenas. Someone once tried to kill hyenas without eating them. On the contrary, spotted hyenas are also the main predators of young lions. When attacking adult lions, hyenas chase females, but generally avoid attacking males.
In addition to hunting by themselves, hyenas often snatch prey caught by other carnivores, such as cheetahs and even lions. Their huge bite force is enough to scare off cheetahs, and they can snatch prey from lions when the number ratio is greater than three to one.
sound
Hyenas are the most vocal animals among African mammals, and more than 1 1 different sounds have been found.
Groans/screams: generally used when greeting each other.
High voice: Calling other companions, but the tone is different from sound waves. Fast, high-pitched sounds represent the position of conflict or prey. On the surface, the male's cry will be ignored, while the female will get an immediate response.
Niu Ming: Impatient hyenas make this noise, for example, while waiting for their prey.
Snoring: It is aggressive to make a low roar without opening your mouth.
Roar: a deep and vibrating sound with protective behavior, used to warn the other party.
Quack: A low, intermittent purr that sounds an alarm.
Giggle: The loud giggle of the hunted hyenas represents extreme panic.
Shout: Hyenas trying to escape from attackers will shout loudly.
distribution range
Origin: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, C? te d 'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia and Niger.
Possible extinction: Algeria, Togo.
Wandering: Gabon.
Distribution map of spotted hyenas
Breeding mode
The genitourinary system of female hyenas is unique among mammals. Women's clitoris is very long, like an erect penis, and the vaginal opening is at the top, so it can only be used to distinguish between the sexes. Females will use this organ to urinate, mate and give birth. Because it is impossible to mate without female assistance, female hyenas can choose who to mate with. Like the spider monkey, the male penis has no stem bone.
Because the birth canal turns to the clitoris almost at the position of vulva, and the clitoris itself is very narrow, it is difficult for spotted hyenas to give birth. Because of the long delivery time, many newborns are stillborn. It is believed that 10% of wild primiparas died in childbirth. A spotted dog usually has two puppies in a litter, which needs to be fed for 10 months.
The pregnant period of spotted hyenas is about 4 months. When the cubs are born, their eyes are open and their teeth are fully formed. The cubs weigh about 1- 1.6 kg at birth and will bite each other. Fetuses of the same sex will fight with each other and even die. It is estimated that 25% of the mortality rate is caused by cubs biting each other. Because a single fetus can get more food and grow faster, this behavior can be described as an adaptability. [3]
Hyena's milk is very nutritious. Protein content is the highest among land carnivores, accounting for 14.9%, while fat accounts for 14. 1%, second only to polar bears, so they can't leave their cubs like lions or wild dogs. 2-6 weeks after birth, the cubs will be moved to the nest. Babies are completely dependent on breast milk at 8 months, and are weaned at 12- 16 months. The maturity of spotted hyenas is 3 years, and females mature more slowly than males. Generally, males leave the nest at the age of 2, and females still stay in the nest.
Subspecies differentiation
Spotted hyena (subspecies 6)
Chinese name
scientific name
Name and year
1.
Named subspecies of hyenas
Crocodile, crocodile
Leben, Elkes, 1777
2.
Kenya hyena subspecies
Crocuta crocuta fisi
Heller, 19 14
Demographic situation
Due to human persecution, the number of spotted hyenas is decreasing. Outside the reserve, trapping and poisoning are the main reasons. In Serengeti grassland, the cause of death is the trap set by people to catch wild herbivores, which leads to the death rate of hyenas, of which about 400 are killed by traps every year (Hofer et al., 1996). Obviously, since the mid-1970s, hunting activities have expanded rapidly, and more and more people began to look for prey near the border from protected areas, such as the north and west of Serengeti. Many animals were killed, some of them were killed by cars.
The threat to Dalmatian's survival also comes from other wild animals, such as lions, cheetahs and rhinos. Residents poisoned the species because they suspected that it preyed on livestock, and some local natives killed them for food, medicine and witchcraft (Hofer and Mills 1998). Another major threat to wild species is caused by humans. The increasing number of human settlements will lead to habitat loss, overgrazing and hunting density, which will lead to the decrease of this species.
Protection level
In 20 15, it was listed in the red list of endangered species VER by IUCN. 3. 1- low risk (LC).