Researchers tell us that amongst terrestrial carnivores, spotted hyenas have a very complex social system. Hyenas live in groups, but don’t always forage that way. More often than not they will move on their own, or sometimes in small groups, only gathering in larger numbers when there is a large food source. They have alliances amongst different members living within a clan. Hyena clans are dominated by an alpha female, whose offspring inherit her rank.
I was keeping these findings in mind whilst watching some hyena action that took place close to Savuti camp, a few weeks back. A leopard had killed an impala, but had not carried it up a tree. When I arrived in the area the leopard was gone, and a sub-adult hyena was feeding on the carcass. While we watched another hyena approached, and the two began to tug at the carcass from opposite ends. The noise they made as they tussled caught the attention of yet more hyenas, and they began to arrive, one by one. This is when things got interesting. The third animal to arrive greeted the two already at the carcass, but when it tried to feed, the smallest hyena attacked it and drove it off. Then a fourth hyena ran in, greeted and immediately began to eat without any aggression from the other two. When a fifth hyena approached, it teamed up with the third hyena, who had been waiting all the while. Together they approached the three that were feeding. Another tussle broke out, and it ended with the remnants of the carcass being torn in two, with three animals having one section, and the other two their own piece.
Without knowing the history of these particular animals as individuals, it was difficult to determine exactly which one may have been the dominant and for what reason. It was quite clear though that the smallest hyena of the group was somehow able to intimidate several other hyenas, all much bigger and older than it was.
In the end it was an action-packed sighting of these intriguing animals and it left me with lots to think about.
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