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Brown Hyena
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The Brown Hyena (Hyaena brunnea, formerly Parahyaena brunnea) is a hyena living mainly in the Kalahari and Namib deserts of southern Africa.
Description
This intermediate-sized extant hyena species is 110–136 cm (43–53 in) in body length, 64–88 cm (25–35 in) tall at the shoulder and weighs 37–55 kg (82–121 lb), though exceptional larger individuals are known. It is smaller than the Spotted Hyena, and unlike its spotted cousin, is largely a scavenger.
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Encyclopedia
The Brown Hyena (Hyaena brunnea, formerly Parahyaena brunnea) is a hyena living mainly in the Kalahari and Namib deserts of southern Africa.
Description
This intermediate-sized extant hyena species is 110–136 cm (43–53 in) in body length, 64–88 cm (25–35 in) tall at the shoulder and weighs 37–55 kg (82–121 lb), though exceptional larger individuals are known. It is smaller than the Spotted Hyena, and unlike its spotted cousin, is largely a scavenger. It is the largest land animal to derive most of its diet from scavenging, although it will also hunt small mammals. Because of the scarcity of food in the desert, the Brown Hyena supplements its diet with fruit and vegetables, and along the Namib coastline it is known to snatch seal pups.
Social behavior
Like the Spotted Hyena, the Brown Hyena lives in clans. However, Brown Hyena clans are much smaller (ranging between 4 and 15 members) and less organized, and do not hunt cooperatively. A particularly large food source may draw several of the clan to it, and they will work together to defend their find. They will also defend their territories as a group. The Brown Hyena can generally chase off Leopards, Caracals or Cheetahs, but the Spotted Hyena will drive the Brown Hyena from kills, as can groups of African Wild Dogs. The Brown Hyena often feeds from Lion kills, but Lions dominate and occasionally kill Brown Hyena.
Unlike the Spotted Hyena, the females do not have an enlarged clitoris, and males are slightly larger than females.
Reproduction
The brown hyaena is a polyoestrous, non-seasonal breeder with anoestrous occurring during lactation. The gestation period is approximately 97 days and mean litter size is 2.3 (range: 1-5 cubs). Both nomadic and immigrant males may mate and all adult females in a clan may reproduce, although the matriarch apparently produces more cubs than other female clan members.
Brown hyaena females give birth and raise their young in dens; these are often created by aardvarks, but are occasionally dug by the female hyaenas. The den is usually a single hole in the ground with a narrow entrance of about 30 cm height and 50 cm width although in some areas caves are used At most dens, a single litter of cubs is raised, but two or even more females may share a den in territories where more than one female breeds The breeding females are usually a mother and her adult daughters; the adult females in a clan may even suckle each other's cubs, although they give priority to their own cubs.
The denning period lasts 15 months, during which time the cubs use several different dens. In the southern Kalahari each den is occupied for an average of 3.6 months At birth brown hyaenas have the same body coloration as adults. For the first three months of their lives the cubs are nursed by their mother, typically at sunset and sunrise, after which the milk diet is supplemented to an increasing degree by food which is carried to the den by all clan members. Consequently brown hyaena dens often become littered with bones and other food remains, the cubs are weaned at 12-14 months of age, but from about ten months of age they also begin to forage for themselves. Brown hyaenas reach full size by approximately 30 months of age.
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