---
title: "What the sources say about the Striped Hyena | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "48 claims from the Striped Hyena profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Striped Hyena (*Hyaena hyaena*)

> 48 claims from the Striped Hyena profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Striped Hyena](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/striped-hyena/)

## Hyaena hyaena (striped hyena). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Hyaena_hyaena/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a scavenger's range from northern Africa to India | The striped hyena is predominantly a scavenger |
| Mainly carrion and human refuse, plus raided dates and melons, insects, small animals like hares and reptiles, and for some, livestock | its diet consisting mainly of carrion and human refuse ... It supplements its diet with fruit, insects, and occasionally by killing small animals like hare, rodents, reptiles, and birds. |
| Its diet is mainly carrion (dead animals) and human refuse. | The striped hyena is predominantly a scavenger; its diet consisting mainly of carrion and human refuse. |
| It scavenges zebras, wildebeest, gazelles and impalas, even eating the bones once the meat has been picked off. | It scavenges large and medium-sized mammals, such as zebras, wildebeests, gazelles, and impalas, even eating bones from carcasses if the meat has been picked off. |
| Striped hyenas eat insects too, and occasionally kill hares, rodents, reptiles and birds. | It supplements its diet with fruit, insects, and occasionally by killing small animals like hare, rodents, reptiles, and birds. |
| In some areas, striped hyenas leave anal-gland scent marks near feeding sites and well-used paths. | In some areas, however, anal-gland marks and latrines have been found near feeding sites and well-used pathways. |
| Striped hyenas usually keep around 50 meters from lions and tigers | They keep a safe distance, usually around 50 meters, from larger, carnivorous mammals like lions and tigers. |
| they behave submissively toward the larger spotted hyena and let it steal their food | The striped hyena behaves submissively towards the larger spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta, and will allow spotted hyenas to steal its food. |
| They forage mostly at night, each travelling alone at an average of 2 to 4 km/h and occasionally trotting at 8 km/h. | The striped hyena forages principally at night, individually travelling throughout its home range searching for food in no apparent pattern. Travelling speeds average 2-4 km/h, occasionally increasing to 8 km/h when trotting. |

## Striped Hyena. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

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

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A raised mane that makes it look nearly twice its size | In an instant, a striped hyena can nearly double in size—or at least appear much larger—by raising the hair along its back! |
| jaws built to crush bone | Hyenas have a large head and strong jaws filled with huge teeth used to crush bone. |
| a scavenger's range from northern Africa to India | Native to northern Africa, the Middle East, and India |
| Semi-deserts, rocky scrubland and savanna across northern Africa, the Middle East and India | Native to northern Africa, the Middle East, and India, striped hyenas eke out a life in habitat too difficult to live in for other large predators: semideserts, rocky scrublands, and savannas. |
| Mainly carrion and human refuse, plus raided dates and melons, insects, small animals like hares and reptiles, and for some, livestock | Some striped hyenas even prey on sheep, goats, donkeys, and horses. ... hyenas have a reputation for stealing crops like dates, melons, cucumbers, and peaches |
| Jaws that crush and swallow bones, horns and hooves, and a digestive system adapted to maximize the nutrition it gets from its food; only the horns, hooves and hair come back up. | Its massive jaws help the hyena crush and swallow bones, teeth, horns, and hooves—all body parts that other predators leave uneaten. The hyena's digestive system has adapted to maximize the nutritional value of what they eat; only the horns, hooves, and hair are regurgitated. |
| Striped hyenas (Hyaena hyaena) aren't dogs or cats. | Hyenas are not members of the dog or cat families. |
| They belong to their own family, Hyaenidae | they have a family all their own, Hyaenidae |
| their closest relatives are mongooses and meerkats | The mongoose and the meerkat are the hyena's closest relatives. |
| They stand 66 to 75 centimeters (26 to 30 inches) at the shoulder | Height: 26 to 30 inches (66 to 75 centimeters) tall at shoulder |
| measure 100 to 115 centimeters (39 to 45 inches) long, and the tail is 30 to 40 centimeters (12 to 16 inches) | Length: 39 to 45 inches (100 to 115 centimeters) long ... Tail length: 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 centimeters) |
| Females weigh 26 to 34 kilograms (57 to 75 pounds), males 26 to 41 kilograms (57 to 90 pounds). | Weight: Females - 57 to 75 pounds (26 to 34 kilograms); males - 57 to 90 pounds (26 to 41 kilograms) |
| The San Diego Zoo gives their life span as 10 to 12 years. | LIFE SPAN 10 to 12 years (note: The page's full line is "LIFE SPAN 10 to 12 years; 20 not 25 years in zoos". The zoo half reads as garbled (probably "20 to 25") and cannot be represented exactly, so it is cut, and the first figure is attributed to the zoo without a wild label the page never gives. ADW's captive 24.0 years is from an older AnAge copy and is not used.) |
| A striped hyena's massive jaws crush and swallow bones, teeth, horns and hooves, the body parts other predators leave uneaten | Its massive jaws help the hyena crush and swallow bones, teeth, horns, and hooves—all body parts that other predators leave uneaten. |
| its digestive system is adapted to maximize the nutrition it gets from its food. Only the horns, hooves and hair are brought back up. | The hyena's digestive system has adapted to maximize the nutritional value of what they eat; only the horns, hooves, and hair are regurgitated. |
| Hyenas also have a reputation for raiding crops for dates, melons, cucumbers and peaches. | hyenas have a reputation for stealing crops like dates, melons, cucumbers, and peaches (a favorite) |
| Some striped hyenas prey on sheep, goats, donkeys and horses. | Some striped hyenas even prey on sheep, goats, donkeys, and horses. |
| When threatened, a striped hyena raises the mane of long hair along its back and can appear to nearly double in size in an instant. | A mane of long hair grows along the back. |
| When threatened, a striped hyena raises the mane of long hair along its back and can appear to nearly double in size in an instant. | In an instant, a striped hyena can nearly double in size—or at least appear much larger—by raising the hair along its back! |
| The San Diego Zoo says this is not an act of aggression but the hyena's last effort to pretend to be brave and, it hopes, keep predators farther away. | This is not an act of aggression but the hyena’s last effort to "pretend" to be brave and, hopefully, keep what it sees as scary predators farther away. (note:  "it hopes" renders the source's "hopefully".) |
| Striped hyenas were once thought to be solitary, but recent studies show that in some areas they live in small groups of one female and several males. | Once thought to be solitary, recent studies have shown that in some areas striped hyenas live in small groups of one female and several males. |
| Striped hyenas live in semi-deserts, rocky scrubland and savanna across northern Africa, the Middle East and India. | Native to northern Africa, the Middle East, and India, striped hyenas eke out a life in habitat too difficult to live in for other large predators: semideserts, rocky scrublands, and savannas. |
| They avoid true deserts and need a water source within 10 kilometers (6 miles). | They avoid true deserts and must have a water source within 6 miles (10 kilometers). |
| Its massive jaws crush and swallow bones, teeth, horns and hooves, the body parts other predators leave uneaten, and its digestive system is adapted to maximize the nutrition it gets from its food. Only the horns, hooves and hair are brought back up. | Its massive jaws help the hyena crush and swallow bones, teeth, horns, and hooves—all body parts that other predators leave uneaten. ... The hyena's digestive system has adapted to maximize the nutritional value of what they eat; only the horns, hooves, and hair are regurgitated. |
| It raises the mane of long hair along its back and can appear to nearly double in size in an instant. The San Diego Zoo says this is not an act of aggression but the hyena's last effort to pretend to be brave and, it hopes, keep predators farther away. | In an instant, a striped hyena can nearly double in size—or at least appear much larger—by raising the hair along its back! This is not an act of aggression but the hyena’s last effort to "pretend" to be brave and, hopefully, keep what it sees as scary predators farther away. (note:  "it hopes" renders the source's "hopefully".) |

## AbiSaid & Dloniak (2015). Hyaena hyaena. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T10274A45195080.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2015-2.rlts.t10274a45195080.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN lists the species as Near Threatened. | Near Threatened (note: IUCN category verified through GBIF's copy of the Red List for this assessment DOI, per docs/fact-check.md.) |

## Srivathsa et al. (2019). Examining human–carnivore interactions using a socio-ecological framework: sympatric wild canids in India as a case study. Royal Society Open Science.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.182008

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In India's Kanha–Pench forests, a study of five carnivores recorded no reports of hyenas killing livestock | We did not record any reports of depredation by hyenas. |
| In India's Kanha–Pench forests, a study of five carnivores recorded no reports of hyenas killing livestock | Kanha–Pench forest landscape of central India |
| In India's Kanha–Pench forests, a study of five carnivores recorded no reports of hyenas killing livestock | we identified ecological attributes that would influence distribution of the five carnivore species |
| unlike wolves, dholes, jackals and foxes there | Depredation incidents were recorded from 68 sites for wolf, nine sites for dhole and 44 sites for fox. There were no records of depredation by hyena, but incidents attributed to jackal were reported in more than 95% of the sites. |
| The authors say this may fit observations that hyenas are scavengers that do not actively hunt domestic animals. | This may corroborate observations that hyenas are scavengers and do not actively hunt domestic prey |

## Bhandari et al. (2020). The diet of the striped hyena in Nepal's lowland regions. Ecology and Evolution.

https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6223

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In Nepal's lowlands, though, a study of hyena droppings found livestock made up 17.3 percent of the diet by biomass | we studied the feeding ecology of hyenas in lowland, Nepal. We employed an opportunistic sampling to collect hyena scats ... Livestock contributed 17.3% of the total dietary biomass. |
| and wild boar was the most preferred prey | indicating medium‐sized wild boar is the most preferred prey species |

## Theis et al. (2013). Symbiotic bacteria appear to mediate hyena social odors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1306477110

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A study of wild spotted and striped hyenas found the bacteria in their scent glands are mostly fermenting types | survey deeply the bacterial communities in the scent glands of wild spotted and striped hyenas. We show that these communities are dominated by fermentative bacteria |
| the mix of bacteria changes along with the volatile fatty acids (smelly chemicals) in their scent | the structures of these communities covary with the volatile fatty acid profiles of scent secretions in both hyena species |
| The authors say the results suggest bacteria are behind each species' own smell. | suggesting that symbiotic bacteria underlie species-specific odors in both spotted and striped hyenas |

## Sakai et al. (2011). Brain Size and Social Complexity: A Computed Tomography Study in Hyaenidae. Brain, Behavior and Evolution.

https://doi.org/10.1159/000323849

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The spotted hyena lives in complex, ranked groups of up to 90 animals. | the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) lives in complex hierarchically organized groups containing up to 90 animals |
| A brain-scan study found it has the largest brain relative to body size of the four living hyena species. | Hyaenidae contains 4 extant species ... Computed tomography was used to create three-dimensional endocasts ... The largest brain volume, relative to body size, is found in the spotted hyena. |
| Striped hyenas live alone or in small groups, while spotted hyenas live in complex, ranked groups of up to 90 animals. A brain-scan study found the spotted hyena has the largest brain relative to body size of the four hyena species, and a larger front section of the brain. The authors say that fits the idea that complex social lives drive the growth of that front section, though other factors may play a part. | the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) lives solitarily or in small groups; ... the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) lives in complex hierarchically organized groups containing up to 90 animals. Computed tomography was used ... The largest brain volume, relative to body size, is found in the spotted hyena. ... The spotted hyena also possesses a larger anterior cerebrum volume relative to total brain volume than is found in the other hyena species; this region is composed primarily of frontal cortex. These data are consistent with the idea that expansion of the frontal cortex is driven by the demands of processing cognitive information associated with complex social lives, but other factors may drive the evolution of large brains in hyaenids. |