Spotted Hyena

“Cackle, cackle,” laughs the spotted hyena.

Spotted hyenas are mammals native to areas south of the Sahara Desert in Africa, and are found in woodland, desert and savannah habitats.
‘Spotted hyenas’ are also known as ‘laughing hyenas’, and have the scientific classification of Crocuta crocuta and are from the family Hyaenidae, the family of hyenas.
Spotted hyenas grow to be 86 to 150 centimetres (34 to 59 inches) in length and weigh around 40.5 to 86 kilograms (89 to 190 pounds), and can run at speeds of 60 km per hour (37 miles per hour).
Spotted hyenas have short manes and fur coats of grey-brown to yellow-grey in colour, spotted with darker coloured spots.
Spotted hyenas can live up to 25 years in the wild, and females typically have litters of two cubs, sometimes three, and the cubs are born eyes opened and may attack fellow cubs at birth.

Spotted hyenas live in clans of up to 80, living in dens often made by other animals and later deserted, and commonly with multiple adults and their cubs in a single den.
A spotted hyena’s diet mostly consists of animals of all shapes and sizes, and they are typically hunters, although they may occasionally scavenge, often hunting in small to medium sized groups.
Spotted hyenas typically compete for food with lions, with lions sometimes stealing their hunted food, and they may attack humans, out of threat or desperateness, but it is not common.
Spotted hyenas vocalise with sound including laughing, grunts, whines, squeals and whoops, among others.
Spotted hyenas generally consume all parts of an animal, including bones, horns, hooves, teeth, skin and fur, most of which is broken down by their internal organs.

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