Handsome Hyena

Hello lovely followers thanks once again for your unconditional love. Hope you enjoyed the culture of a vulture, to continue the theme of uniqueness today I am bringing you animal which is known as an ugly animal but you will love it when you will come to know about the facts of this lovely creature. So let’s get into the den of Hyena to know more about such a wonderful creature of Mother Nature

Hide and Seek

To start with topic let me give you a little bit of background about my experience and then we will get into the facts and importance of this lovely animal. Hyena being a nocturnal animal it is difficult to find them in all places, in all our visits we sighted big cats but not lucky with Hyena always. It was Jhalana where first time we had an encounter with this lovely animal (Stripped Hyena) after which luck extended to Kenya to have a sighting of Spotted Hyena family. In Jhalana while we were targeting leopard for a frame surprisingly tour ended with hyena safari, we were lucky to sight head-on walk and the couple of them in the early morning as well. After Jhalana it was Kenya which made our day when we saw the whole family doing various activities. These sightings and unique behavior made me crazy and forced me to do a search on it, during the search the facts, myths, and superstition shocked me so I thought let me take you through these unique details as well. Since I have already updated you on Jhalana and Kenya I am directly taking you to the Hyena's den.

Facts or Fiction – Its Fact for sure

Most of us feel that Hyenas are part of dog family but let me open the first fact that they are not members of the dog or cat families. Instead, they are so unique that they have a family all their own, Hyaenidae, don’t just count more facts on the way

There are four members of the hyena family, the striped hyena, the “giggly” spotted hyena, the brown hyena, and the aardwolf (it's a hyena, not a wolf)

They are important members of an ecosystem. They help to keep the area clean from decaying carcasses and removing sick or old herbivores from a herd

With sharp vision, acute hearing (really big ears!), and a keen sense of smell, hyenas patrol their territory nightly

Hyenas have a large head and strong jaws filled with huge teeth used to crush bone. Although they are mostly scavengers, some striped hyenas even prey on sheep, goats, donkeys, and horses

Hyenas can hear sounds that human ears cannot, and they listen for sounds from other predators that may lead them to a kill that is miles away

The Fun fact about hyena is similar to human (Male Hyena as well has to follow the boss) She’s the boss! Adult females are aggressive toward one another and dominant over males

Female hyenas have a ‘penis’, which is an elongated clitoris, though they are not hermaphrodite. The ‘penis’ of the female hyena is used for copulation, urination, and birth. Many cubs die of suffocation during birth. The mother giving birth may also die as the ‘penis’ is ruptured

The myth and superstition

Myths and superstitions surround hyenas. One myth claims that they eat children, yet they are also kept as loyal and trustworthy pets

The people of some cultures use the dried dung of hyenas as a cosmetic face powder, and others believe that the hyena’s tongue and fat have medicinal properties.

In other cultures, a striped hyena’s heart is eaten for courage, the whiskers preserved as charms

The hyena’s reputation as a somehow distasteful, unpleasant, or even evil creature, yet anyone who has studied or worked with hyenas can attest to their intelligence, their cooperative social groups, and their attentive care of their young

Many times hyenas are misunderstood as dangerous or destructive hence it is poisoned, trapped, or shot down by humans

Now I am sure that after knowing the facts and fiction you will agree with me that Hyenas are a handsome and not ugly creature. I hope you liked the content now it’s time for you to visit deadly DSLR