Brown Hyena
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| Parahyaena brunnea Thunberg, 1820 |
The brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea, formerly Hyaena brunnea) lives mainly in the Kalahari and Namib deserts of southern Africa. 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 they 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 they are known to snatch seal pups.
Like 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. Brown hyena can generally chase off leopard, caracal or cheetah, but spotted hyena will drive them from kills. Brown hyena often feed from lion kills, but lions dominate and occasionally kill brown hyena.
Unlike the spotted hyena, the females do not have enlarged clitoris, and males are slightly larger than females.
[edit] External links
- The Brown Hyena from The Hyaena Specialist Group
- Brown Hyena Fact Sheet
- The Brown Hyena at Lioncrusher's Domain
- The Brown Hyena Research Project
- Fossils of the Brown Hyena
