South African Wildlife| The Brown Hyena |

Brown hyenas are one of the most interesting and charismatic species on the African continent in my opinion. I have had the privilege of seeing these animals many times during my trips to Madikwe Game Reserve and Pilanesbrg National Park, both of which have stable populations.

Unlike the larger spotted hyena, there are no sizeable differences between the sexes, although males tend to be slightly larger than the females. Brown hyenas are primarily scavengers, with the bulk of their diet consisting of carcasses killed by larger predators, though they may supplement their diet with rodents, insects, eggs and fruit. They will even cache excess food in shrubs or holes!  As with all scavengers, the Brown Hyena has incredibly sensitive sense of smell to sniff out carcasses in the veld.

Probably one of the most interesting traits of this shy and secretive creature is the use of scent marking to communicate with other individuals. Brown hyenas possess an anal pouch below the base of the tail, which produces a bilobed pasting which is deposited onto grass stalks as they forage.

These scent markings contain information on the age and sex of the indivdual, its reproductive status as well as when it last passed through an area whilst foraging.

Brown hyenas are social animals that may live in clans consisting of one adult of each sex and associated young. Brown hyenas maintain a stable clan hierarchy through ritualised aggressive displays and mock fights. They typically forage alone, and do not maintain a territory, instead using common hunting paths.

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