I apologize if this video link has already been posted, but just in case:

http://www.m90.org/view_image.php?image_id=1942

It has played here before, but good to see it again. Thanks Kenati. Tom Lowe took credit for that, maybe the setting to rock&roll of the original, by the Joubert husband & wife team? "Eternal Enemies" from the National Gegraphic Channel?

The male lion is stronger and faster and has a better back breaking blow with the paw than a hyena has.

That does show how huge the spotted hyena is, but not as huge as the King of Beasts.

The hyena does have the greatest bite pressure of any quadruped. Good for chewing up bones.

The hyena has a biochemical/metabolic problem with aromatization of sex steroids, so the females don't make good supplies of good estrogen. They have hermaphrodite genitalia, and the female is the boss hyena.

That's all the hyena trivia I know.

Speaking of hyenas... If the female is larger, I guess quite a few females are shot. If that is so, does anybody pay attention to whether she has young ones that she is still suckling??

Are hyenas like wolves, in that only the alpha fermale has pups??

- mike

quote:

Originally posted by mho:
Speaking of hyenas... If the female is larger, I guess quite a few females are shot. If that is so, does anybody pay attention to whether she has young ones that she is still suckling??

Are hyenas like wolves, in that only the alpha fermale has pups??

- mike

Hyena pups are tended by all the females in the troop! The one exception is the offspring of the ALFA female! I she is killed, her pups are usually very mistreated, and sometimes killed. All others are taken care of by the troop!

Hyenas are not like wolves, all the fertile females breed, and the males do not camp with the females, and young, but come in only to breed!

The killing of a Hyena by the client,early in the safari, is considered to mean good luck on the hunt, by the camp, and tracking staff!

Of course you always pay attention to a animal with cubs...The Hyena is a part of Africa to be respected, it is not the "hated" animal some seem to portray them as...Ask any PH worth his salt and he will tell you even the storks and vultures are part of the ecosystem in Africa and to be respected.....

Good clip and interesting commentary. I learned some from that. Thanks

EKM

Interesting stuff, thanks for taking the time to expand my horizon a bit.
- mike

Great clip! I must agree with Atkinson. Hope this is true..
When hunting in Namibia last year, I farmer on a nearby farm had shot and wounded a hyena. For me it sounded like they shot every predator that walked through their property with no ethics involved.. Well, I guess I can`t draw a conclusion after one story.
But what do you guys feel about this matter. How do farmers (not outfits) treat predators? I understand their problem with killing of livestock, of course..