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HYENA

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Originally appearing in Volume V14, Page 174 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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HYENA , a name applicable to all the representatives of the mammalian See also:

family Hyaenidae, a See also:group of See also:Carnivora (q.v.) allied to the civets. From all other large Carnivora except the See also:African See also:hunting-See also:dog, hyenas are distinguished by having only four toes on each See also:foot, and are further characterized by the length of the fore-legs as compared with the See also:hind pair, the non-retractile claws, and the enormous strength of the jaws and See also:teeth, which enables them to break the hardest bones and to retain what they have seized with unrelaxing grip. ' See further under Se's PHOMEDUSAE. .t. C' See also:Free See also:Stage The striped hyena (Hyaena striata) is the most widely distributed See also:species, being found throughout See also:India, See also:Persia, See also:Asia See also:Minor, and See also:North and See also:East See also:Africa, the East African See also:form constituting a distinct; See also:race, H. striata schillingsi; while there are also several distinct See also:Asiatic races. The species resembles a See also:wolf in See also:size, and is greyish-See also:brown in See also:colour, marked with indistinct See also:longitudinal stripes of a darker See also:hue, while the legs are transversely striped. The hairs on the See also:body are See also:long, especially on the See also:ridge of the See also:neck and back, where they form a distinct mane, which is continued along the tail. Nocturnal in habits, See also:fit%),/i .y ~ z. it prefers by See also:day the gloom of caves and ruins, or of the burrows which it occasionally forms, and issues forth at sunset, when it commences its unearthly howling. When the See also:animal is excited, the howl changes into what has been compared to demoniac See also:laughter, whence the name of " laughing-hyena." These creatures feed chiefly on carrion, and thus perform useful service by devouring remains which might otherwise pollute the See also:air. Even human dead are not safe from their attacks, their powerful claws enabling them to gain See also:access to newly interred bodies in cemeteries. Occasionally (writes Dr W.

T. See also:

Blanford) See also:sheep or goats, and more often See also:dogs, are carried off, and the latter, at all events, are often taken alive to the animal's den. This species appears to be solitary in habits, and it is rare to meet with more than two together. The cowardice of this hyena is proverbial; despite its powerful teeth, it rarely attempts to defend itself. A very different animal is the spotted hyena, Hyaena (Crocuta) crocuta, which has the sectorial teeth' of a more See also:cat-like type, and is marked by dark-brown spots on a yellowish ground, while the mane is much less distinct. At the Cape it was formerly See also:common, and occasionally committed See also:great havoc among the See also:cattle, while it did not hesitate to enter the Kaffir dwellings at See also:night and carry off See also:children sleeping by their mothers. By persistent trapping and See also:shooting, its See also:numbers have now been considerably reduced, with the result, however, of making it exceedingly wary, so that it is not readily caught in any See also:trap with which it has had an opportunity of becoming acquainted. Its range extends from See also:Abyssinia to the Cape. The Abyssinian form has been regarded as a distinct species, under the name of H. liontiewi, but this, like various more See also:southern forms, is but regarded as a See also:local race. The brown hyena (01. brunnea) is See also:South African, ranging to See also:Angola on the See also:west and See also:Kilimanjaro on the east. In size it resembles the striped hyena, but differs in See also:appearance, owing to the fringe of long See also:hair covering the neck and fore See also:part of the back. The See also:general hue is ashy-brown, with the hair lighter on the neck (forming a See also:collar), See also:chest and belly; while the legs are banded with dark brown.

This species is not often seen, as it remains concealed during the day. Those frequenting the See also:

coast feed on dead See also:fish, crabs and an occasional stranded See also:whale, though they are also a danger to the sheep and cattle See also:kraal. Strand-wolf is the local name at the Cape. Although hyenas are now confined to the warmer regions of the Old See also:World, fossil remains show that they had a more northerly range during See also:Tertiary times; the See also:European See also:cave-hyena being a form of the spotted species, known as H. crocuta spelaea. Fossil hyenas occur in the See also:Lower See also:Pliocene of See also:Greece, See also:China, India, &c.; while remains indistinguishable from those of the striped species have been found in the Upper Pliocene of See also:England and See also:Italy.

End of Article: HYENA

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