Crocuta Crocuta
85 cm shoulder
Weight
Male: 60 kg
Female: 70 - 80 kg (larger of two sexes)
Lifespan
20 years
Habitat
Wide tolerance (except forest and desert)
Gestation
16 weeks
Number of young
2
Food
Usually young of large antelope like wildebeest but opportunistic and will take almost any mammal, bird, fish, reptile as well as vegetable matter, carrion and even garbage (eats 3.8 kg of meat a day)
Predators
Lions, other hyena (disease)
Whoop Whoop
Hyenas have 14 calls including whoops, grunts, groans, lowing, giggles, snarls, yelling and whines. The ‘whoop’ is the most conspicuous as it travels a great distance and is often heard at night as hyena advertise their presence or rally their clan members to assist with territory defence or the hunting of food.
Like lions, hyenas recognize one another’s calls and respond accordingly. Spotted hyenas are notorious for their giggled vocalization. This is emanated while feeding together on a kill as a sign of deference or included amidst a cacophony of different vocalizations during frantic encounters with lions.
By Megan Emmett