Striped hyena (lat. HYAEENA HYAEENA) quite large predators living in Africa, Asia. Animals live in families, hunt mainly at night. Belong to the submarine of catshaped, the family of hyena.
A few are known that the “hyena” translated from Greek means “pig”. Outwardly, mammals are similar to a large dog, but distinguishing features are special proportions of the limbs and a kind of body production. You can meet striped hyena in Africa, Asia, on the territory of the former USSR. Animals love to be in ravines, rocky gorges, dry channels, caves and on clay hills.
Description
Striped hyenas are one of the largest representatives of their family. When communicating with other individuals, many sounds are used, however, they do not laugh. The appearance is distinguished by dark, sometimes bright black stripes, large ears.
Appearance
The average characteristics of striped hyenas:
There are cases when researchers found predators weighing up to 70 kg.
The wool of these animals is long, hard, the color is from brown-gray, to straw shades. Contrasting dark stripes pass through the body. The skull is massive, wide. Dark shades prevail on the face. The ears are large, triangular, with pointed tips. The hind legs are shorter than the front.
Lifestyle
Habits, habits, lifestyle largely depend on where predators live. Family pairs of these predators are strong, relationships are maintained throughout life. Different regions are characterized by certain features of social behavior. In Israel, striped hyenas try to stay alone, rarely united in flocks, where males occupy a dominant role. On the territory of the central Kenya, predators are combined into small groups. At the same time, relations are built on a harem of females, which are united by one male. In Central Asia, monogamy is supported among hyenas.
Tychka in females of striped hyenas occurs up to three times in a year. It takes 3 months to grate puppies. The average number of babies for the genus 3. Extremely rarely 1 or 4. Up to six months old, the female feeds her children. Only females take care of offspring.
Hyens hunt in late evenings, at night. During the day they hide in the shade, earthen burrows, clefts, gorges. The territory around the place of residence is widened, violently protected from enemies.
Behavior and diet
Striped hyenas live in families that consist of a male, females and several grown cubs. Within the group, animals behave friendly and sociable, but they show hostility and aggression to other individuals. As a rule, in one region, two or three hyenas lives. Each group has its own territory, which is divided into certain areas: Nora, the place of the night, the restroom, “refectory”, etc.D.
Striped hyenas scavengers. They can also eat everyday waste. In the diet of mammals there is a carrion of zebras, gazelle, impaling. They eat bones and complement their diet with fish, insects, fruits, seeds. Striped hyenas also vow rodents, hares, birds and reptiles. An important condition for the full existence of scaders is the presence of water nearby.
Reproduction
Hyenas can mate all year round. One male can fertilize a large number of females. The pregnancy of a female individual lasts about 90 days, as a result of which 2-4 blind cubs are born. Kids have brown or chocolate wool. They have been with their mother for a long time and study hunting, defense and other skills.
Natural enemies
Since striped hyenas are the second largest representatives of their family, they have few enemies in natural nature. At the same time, in the territories of residence, hyenas cannot be called serious opponents to other predators.
A small number of enemies is determined by some features of the behavior and lifestyle of these animals:
Opponents in the wild lions, leopards, cheetahs.
However, in general, the main enemy of various types of hyenas is a person. This is due to a poor reputation of these animals, a general erroneous opinion from people.
Interesting Facts
There are many interesting facts about striped hyenas, the main of which must be considered in more detail:
On very hot days, these animals can be found in shallow water. In water, they are saved from the heat.
To date, striped hyenas are attributed to that group of animals that are under the risk of disappearance. To protect predators from complete extinction, their population is supported in national parks of Africa, zoos around the world. At the same time, in captivity, with proper nutrition, care, life expectancy of hyenas increases by 2 times.
