---
title: "What the sources say about the Spotted Hyena | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "51 claims from the Spotted Hyena profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/spotted-hyena-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/spotted-hyena/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Spotted Hyena (*Crocuta crocuta*)

> 51 claims from the Spotted Hyena profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Spotted Hyena](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/spotted-hyena/)

## Spotted Hyena. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/spotted-hyena

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Bone-crushing jaws | Powerful jaws are able to crush bones with ease. |
| matriarchal clan rule | Spotted hyenas have a matriarchal society. |
| a whoop that carries for miles | The "whoop" is a call heard for miles |
| Savannas, semi-arid regions, swamps, and mountainous forest across sub-Saharan Africa | live in Africa south of the Sahara Desert ... survive in savannas and swamps, as well as semi-arid regions, and even mountainous forest areas |
| Wildebeest, zebras, Cape buffalo and gazelles, eaten bones and all, plus scavenged leftovers | This can include young rhinos, adult wildebeest, zebras, and Cape buffalo ... Smaller packs chase down gazelles ... Spotted hyenas also scavenge, but they have to compete with jackals and vultures for these leftovers ... They eat practically every part of their prey, including skin, hooves, bone, and teeth |
| Jaws that crush bone with ease | Powerful jaws are able to crush bones with ease. |
| Yes: spotted hyenas have a matriarchal society | Spotted hyenas have a matriarchal society. |
| Females are larger and, on average, much more assertive and aggressive than males | The females are larger and, on average, much more assertive and aggressive to the males. (note: reads the source's 'to the males' as 'than', parallel with 'larger') |
| even a low-ranking female's cubs outrank the highest-ranking adult male who has moved in from another clan | A low-ranking female's cubs rank higher than the highest-ranking adult immigrant male! (note: 'moved in from another clan' for immigrant; the source says males leave their birth clan at maturity) |
| Lower-ranking males are forced to stay on the outskirts of the clan, allowed to join only for a hunt or a fight against another clan or lions | Lower-ranking males are forced to stay on the outskirts of the clan and are only allowed to join during a hunt or a fight against another clan or lions. |
| Jaws That Crush Bone | Powerful jaws are able to crush bones with ease. |
| has powerful jaws that crush bone with ease | Powerful jaws are able to crush bones with ease. |
| It eats practically every part of its prey, including skin, hooves, bone and teeth, which most other predators could not eat | They eat practically every part of their prey, including skin, hooves, bone, and teeth. Powerful jaws are able to crush bones with ease. Most other predators couldn't eat those things, even if they tried. |
| Spotted hyenas can also digest things that most other animals cannot, like skin and bone, thanks to special acids in their stomach | Spotted hyenas can digest things that most other animals cannot, like skin and bone. Special acids in their stomach break down these rare delicacies. (note: 'thanks to' paraphrases the source's own link: the acids 'break down these rare delicacies') |
| a hyena can eat a third of its own body weight at one meal | Hyenas can eat one-third of their body weight at one meal. |
| Spotted hyenas measure 1.2 to 1.8 meters (4 to 5.9 feet) long and stand 77 to 81 centimeters (2.5 to 2.6 feet) at the shoulder | Length: 4 to 5.9 feet (1.2 to 1.8 meters) long ... Height: 2.5 to 2.6 feet (77 to 81 centimeters) tall at shoulder |
| Weight runs from 40 to 86 kilograms (88 to 190 pounds), and females are 10 percent heavier than males | Weight: 88 to 190 pounds (40 to 86 kilograms); females are 10 percent heavier than males |
| A Strong, Capable Hunter | the spotted hyena is a strong, capable hunter. |
| The bigger the clan, the larger its prey, which can include adult wildebeest, zebras and Cape buffalo, while smaller packs chase down gazelles | The bigger the hyena clan, the larger its prey. This can include young rhinos, adult wildebeest, zebras, and Cape buffalo ... Smaller packs chase down gazelles (note: the speed was cut: SDZ gives 37 mph (60 km/h) in one paragraph and 30 mph (50 km/h) in its fun facts) |
| Spotted hyenas also scavenge, competing with jackals and vultures for leftovers | Spotted hyenas also scavenge, but they have to compete with jackals and vultures for these leftovers. |
| Clan Rule Is Female | Spotted hyenas have a matriarchal society. |
| A spotted hyena clan can hold up to 100 members, and its society is matriarchal | There can be up to 100 individuals in a clan. Spotted hyenas have a matriarchal society. |
| The Most Vocal Mammal in Africa | they are the most vocal mammals in Africa, with over 11 different sounds recorded |
| More than 11 different sounds have been recorded from spotted hyenas | they are the most vocal mammals in Africa, with over 11 different sounds recorded |
| Their famous giggle sounds like a human laughing, and they use it in moments of nervous excitement or submission to a dominant hyena | The famous giggle they produce sounds like a human laughing. This "laugh" is used during times of nervous excitement or submission to a dominant hyena. |
| The whoop, heard for miles, is used to find cubs, advertise territory or bring the clan together, and hyenas can tell which individual is whooping | The "whoop" is a call heard for miles and is used to find cubs, advertise territory, or bring the clan together. Spotted hyenas can tell which individual makes the whoop. |
| Half of all spotted hyena young die before they reach maturity | Half of all spotted hyena young die before they reach maturity. |
| at about three years old | Age of maturity: 3 years |
| Spotted hyenas have more than 11 recorded sounds, from a nervous giggle to a whoop heard for miles | over 11 different sounds recorded. The famous giggle they produce sounds like a human laughing ... used during times of nervous excitement ... is a call heard for miles (note: vibe.reason; 'nervous giggle' condenses the giggle used during times of nervous excitement) |

## Crocuta crocuta (spotted hyena). AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Crocuta_crocuta

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The oldest on record lived to 41.1 years in captivity | Maximum longevity 41.1 years (captivity) (note: AnAge's maximum longevity is the record in its database, so 'on record' keeps that scope) |

## Tanner et al. (2008). Of arcs and vaults: the biomechanics of bone-cracking in spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.2008.01052.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| in a skull that helps spread the stress of a bite | pneumatization of the hyena's skull both enhances its ability to resist bending and, together with the vaulted forehead, plays a critical role in evenly dissipating stress away from the facial region |
| Breaking open large bones has evolved independently in only three groups of carnivorous mammals, and all of them have robust teeth, domed foreheads and a pronounced crest of bone along the top of the skull | The ability to break open large bones has evolved independently in only three groups of carnivorous mammals, all of which have robust teeth, vaulted foreheads, and pronounced sagittal crests. (note: 'domed' for vaulted and 'crest of bone along the top of the skull' for sagittal crest are definitions) |
| A computer model of a spotted hyena skull mid-bite found the stress running in an arc from the bite point up through the forehead and along that crest | we used finite element (FE) analysis to examine patterns of stress distribution in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) skull during unilateral biting ... During biting, an arc of stress extends from the bite point up through the vaulted forehead and along the sagittal crest. |
| The results suggest the skull's air-filled sinuses, together with the domed forehead, help it resist bending and spread the stress evenly away from the face | Our results suggest that pneumatization of the hyena's skull both enhances its ability to resist bending and, together with the vaulted forehead, plays a critical role in evenly dissipating stress away from the facial region. (note: pneumatization is the skull's air-filled sinuses; the abstract names the fronto-parietal sinus) |
| A computer model of a spotted hyena skull mid-bite found the stress running in an arc from the bite point up through the domed forehead and along the bony crest on top of the skull | we used finite element (FE) analysis to examine patterns of stress distribution in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) skull during unilateral biting ... During biting, an arc of stress extends from the bite point up through the vaulted forehead and along the sagittal crest. |
| The results suggest the skull's air-filled sinuses, together with that domed forehead, help it resist bending and spread the stress evenly away from the face | Our results suggest that pneumatization of the hyena's skull both enhances its ability to resist bending and, together with the vaulted forehead, plays a critical role in evenly dissipating stress away from the facial region. |

## Holekamp et al. (1997). Hunting rates and hunting success in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). Journal of Zoology.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1997.tb02925.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| They hunt: a seven-year study of one large wild clan in Kenya's Masai Mara recorded 272 hunting attempts, more than 75 percent of them by a lone hyena, even against antelope three times its own body mass | Hunting group size, hunting rates and hunting success were monitored over a seven‐year period among members of one large clan of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) inhabiting the Masai Mara National Reserve, in south‐west Kenya ... Over 75% of 272 hunting attempts were made by lone hyenas, even when they hunted antelope three times their own body mass |
| About one in three attempts ended in a catch | Approximately one‐third of all hunting attempts resulted in prey capture. |
| Of the prey they commonly hunted, only zebras were usually hunted in groups | Of all prey that were commonly hunted, only zebra were usually hunted in groups. |
| young hyenas were poor hunters and did not reach adult skill until they were five or six years old | Young hyenas were poor hunters, and did not achieve adult competency levels until they were 5–6 years old. |
| A seven-year study of one large wild clan in Kenya's Masai Mara found that over 75 percent of 272 hunting attempts were made by lone hyenas, even when they hunted antelope three times their own body mass | Hunting group size, hunting rates and hunting success were monitored over a seven‐year period among members of one large clan of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) inhabiting the Masai Mara National Reserve, in south‐west Kenya ... Over 75% of 272 hunting attempts were made by lone hyenas, even when they hunted antelope three times their own body mass |
| about one in three attempts ended in a catch | Approximately one‐third of all hunting attempts resulted in prey capture. |

## Engh et al. (2000). Mechanisms of maternal rank 'inheritance' in the spotted hyaena, Crocuta crocuta. Animal Behaviour.

https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2000.1502

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| How Cubs Get Their Rank | Maternal rank 'inheritance', the process by which juveniles attain positions in the dominance hierarchy adjacent to those of their mothers |
| Young hyenas take a place in the dominance hierarchy next to their mothers' | Maternal rank 'inheritance', the process by which juveniles attain positions in the dominance hierarchy adjacent to those of their mothers, occurs in both cercopithecine primates and spotted hyaenas. |
| In a large wild clan in Kenya, high-ranking mothers intervened on behalf of their cubs more often, and more effectively, than low-ranking mothers did | We observed a large clan of free-living spotted hyaenas in Kenya ... high-ranking mothers intervened on behalf of their cubs more frequently and more effectively than low-ranking mothers |
| appear to "inherit" their mothers' ranks by strikingly similar mechanisms | Young hyaenas and primates thus appear to 'inherit' their mothers' ranks by strikingly similar mechanisms. |

## Holekamp et al. (2011). Society, demography and genetic structure in the spotted hyena. Molecular Ecology.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2011.05240.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Young monkeys such as baboons and macaques | such cercopithecine primates as baboons and macaques (note: mechanisms-2000 says cercopithecine primates; society-2012 names baboons and macaques as examples of them) |

## Benson-Amram & Holekamp (2012). Innovative problem solving by wild spotted hyenas. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1450

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Problem Solvers | more successful problem solvers |
| In a problem-solving test in the wild, the hyenas that tried a greater variety of approaches at first were more successful | Here we examine innovative problem solving by spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in their natural habitat, and demonstrate for the first time in a non-human animal that those individuals exhibiting a greater diversity of initial exploratory behaviours are more successful problem solvers |
| Juveniles solved the problem as often as adults, while exploring in more varied ways, persisting longer and showing less fear of new things | juveniles and adults were equally successful in solving the problem, juveniles were significantly more diverse in their initial exploratory behaviours, more persistent and less neophobic than were adults |

## Bohm & Höner (2015). Crocuta crocuta. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T5674A45194782.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2015-2.rlts.t5674a45194782.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | Least Concern |