Spotted Hyena
Crocuta crocuta
| Size: | Up to 90cm high |
| Habitat: | Savannah, forests and bush |
| Feeding: | Medium to large herbivores such as wildebeest, antelopes, etc. |
The Spotted Hyena, also called the Laughing Hyena, is a scavenger and a hunter. It has a brown spotted coat and can easily be recognised by its sloping back.
It has rounded ears and a very strong jaw and teeth. This allows it to crush bones of its prey. Its droppings are white due to the calcium from the bones it consumes.
Hyenas are very vocal and one of their calls is a whooping sound which can be heard for miles around.
They have a lifespan of 10 - 12 years.
These photos were taken in the Masai Mara, Kenya. The second photo shows a hyena who has found one of its clan members, dead. We watched to see if it would eat one of its own, but it took a limb and walked off with it as a committee of vultures arrived to feast on the carcass.
Click on any of the photographs on this site to see a larger image.
