1. Hyenas,
Jackals & Wild Dogs: The Sharpest of Africa's Lesser Predators
The big cats- leopard, lion and cheetah, are
the top dogs of Africa's predators. The pre-eminence of these
feral celebrities in the public imagination has relegated
to second place other predators whose success is equally impressive,
and sometimes even more so. The hyena, jackal and African
wild dog are the sharpest of Africa's lesser predators. Though
key players in the ecological dynamics of the African wilds,
their image has for long been plagued with myths, allegories
and outright slander.
The hyena is the most eminent of Africa's
secondary predators. It is the most common large carnivore,
and easily the most misunderstood. The poor beast has been
painted as an unrepentant scavenger- that reaps where it has
not sown, and a cowardly thief, lacking in grace, beauty and
brains.
Now, matters of grace and beauty are subjective,
but it is easily demonstrated that the hyena has both intelligence
and social skills to match many better-regarded primates.
With other predators, such as lion and cheetah facing various
serious threats, the hyena is counted as one of Africa's most
successful animals. It thrives best in savannas, semi deserts,
forest edges, woodlands and lower mountain slopes.
Hyenas classify into three species: the spotted,
the striped and the brown hyena. There is however a fourth
species - the aardwolf, that is closely related to the stripped
hyena. The aardwolf is much smaller and is the shyest of all
hyenas. It stands at 20 inches at shoulder height, and weighs
about 25 kg. The aardwolf, unlike other hyena types, it is
not carnivorous but rather insectivorous, surviving on termites
and other insects that constitute its strict diet.
The aardwolf lacks the aggression and sociability
of its distant kin. You will find it from southern Egypt all
the way to Tanzania, but largely in Angola, Zambia, and South
Africa. The spotted and stripped hyena species are common
in most of sub-Saharan Africa, except in the rainforests.
The shy and much smaller brown hyena is only found in Southern
Africa.
The spotted hyena is the most common type
and is the most studied by scientists. The best places to
see it at work include: Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti (Tanzania),
Maasai Mara (Kenya), the Savuti Pan and Chobe (Botswana),
Kruger (South Africa) and Etosha (Namibia).
The hyena is a stout, rather awkward looking beast, with hind
limbs shorter than fore limbs. It is related to the mongoose
family and has dog like characteristics. Weighing an average
of 45 kg, the hyena stands 30 inches at shoulder height, and
is 1.5 m from muzzle top to tail tip. Relative to its body
size, this carnivore has the most powerful jaws in the entire
animal kingdom, and is able to crush even the toughest of
bones. Hyenas have a lifespan of about 20 years in the unforgiving
wild, and about double that in captivity.
Hyenas are territorial and are organised as
matriarchal clans consisting of up to 100 individuals. Each
clan comprises of smaller packs of as many as 30 folks. The
pack is usually made up of related adult males and females,
as well as cubs. The fiercest of the females is usually the
leader of the pack. Hyena society is peculiar in the animal
world in that females outrank males. They are usually larger
in build, and are more aggressive in tackling intruders. The
ascendancy of females is the single most important deterrent
that keeps males from eating young ones.
Another very strange matter with the hyena
is the close resemblance between male and female genitalia.
The female organ comprises of a pseudo-penis, through which
they copulate and give birth. The disguise is so complete
that this pseudo-penis comes with both a false scrotum and
testes. This most unusual situation is what gave rise to the
myth that hyenas are hermaphrodites.
Even in matters of sex, females are dominant
and a male's life has few privileges indeed. If the hyena
did not have such a rough image, you would surely find it
in the emblems of radical feminist groups.
Hyena females give birth to an average of
two cubs per litter. Amazingly, cubs are born already highly
developed- with a full set of teeth and are able to open their
eyes and see well right after birth. They are ready to eat
meat at about five months, and by about the first birthday,
lessons begin in the dark arts of killing and scavenging.
All said, hyena females make first-rate mothers.
Hyena cubs are vicious little savages, an
attribute they sharpen during cub's playtime. Sometimes the
violent play leads to death of one of the cubs, especially
if the fighting is between sisters. This infighting of the
cubs is crucial preparation for adult life. For the daily
life of a hyena is full of danger and strong enemies lurk
outside the den.
Hyenas have a highly social lifestyle, and
members of a pack do virtually everything together. They hunt
collectively, and unlike the big cats, their special technique
involves wearing out the victim. To their advantage, they
can run sturdily without tiring for 2-3 km at a speed of 45km/h.
And when one tires, it steps back and allow another member
of the pack still up with stamina to take its place.
Hyenas on a hunt are ruthless and lack in
sportsmanship. They chase the hapless victim for long distances,
biting and tearing at the prey's posterior, while still on
the run. The victim finally succumbs to exhaustion and the
inevitable pain of death. It takes about 4 to 6 adults to
hunt down a prey the size of a wildebeest, but they gladly
share the meal with the rest of the pack.
Even before the victim takes its last breath,
hyenas begin to feast, and the prey is for all purposes eaten
alive. It takes about 10 minutes for six adult hyenas to entirely
devour an impala: teeth, bones and all; nothing remains. This
has earned them the name "cleaners of the savannah".
Besides hunting for food, they also feed on
carrions that junk the savannah. Vultures unwittingly guide
them to carcasses, whereupon they fall on whatever remains
with the same unprecedented gusto that they take to a hunt.
They clear the horizon of debris and keep their territories
free from easy disease. Hyenas are almost indiscriminate feeders-
they will eat bones, vegetation, animal droppings, carrion,
and animals of all sizes including other hyenas.
The hyena's heavy-duty stomach is the envy
of the animal world. It consumes hides, bones, teeth, hooves
and horns and digests all within 24 hours. These are later
efficiently regurgitated in the form of pellets. Despite their
reputation as scavengers, they usually prefer to hunt. Spotted
hyenas, for example, kill up to about 95% of their prey, in
areas where prey is plentiful such as at Tanzania's Ngorongoro
Crater.
After making a kill or sighting carrion, hyenas
make some giggling, growling, whooping and laughter-like noises.
This is a call of the pack to dinner. Owing to their sheepish
laughter, spotted hyenas have been subjected to ridicule,
especially by those who do not understand that they do not
mean to be funny. Many movies caricature hyenas, depicting
them as stupid, greedy, dirty characters. In the popular animated
film "The Lion King", for example, one of the three
hyena characters is named Shenzi, which is Swahili for stupid.
Though hyenas are reputed to be cunning thieves
of other predator's kill, lions- their enemies unto death,
many times steal from them. Hyenas are formidable adversaries,
but they are no match for lions. It takes four shaggy hyenas
to bring down a lioness, and six to tackle a full-grown male.
The bitter enmity between hyenas and lions
has often resulted into fierce battles. The most bizarre of
them being a bloody melee in the Gobele Desert of Ethiopia
in April 1999 that lasted a whole week. At the final whistle,
3-dozen hyenas and 6 lions had perished. Besides the lion,
man is the other of the hyenas' mortal enemies. Hyenas in
turn have been known to viciously attack and eat humans.
Another of Africa's misreported predator of
secondary rank is the jackal. The jackal is a medium-sized
carnivore of doglike build, found mainly in Africa and Asia.
The jackal's ecological specialisation is similar to that
of the coyote found in North America. Though it scavenges,
it is also a proficient and well-respected hunter. In Africa,
it is common from Cairo to the Cape, and is particularly successful
in East Africa's Ngorongoro Crater.
In Ancient Egypt, Anubis the Jackal -the god
charged with embalming and burial had a jackal's head. When
you consider how singularly important correct burial was in
that world for a successful afterlife, you begin to appreciate
the magnitude of the task entrusted to Anubis. Jackals have
been associated with superstition, and in parts of Uganda,
their skin and nails are sold as an antidote to evil spirits.
In similar spirit, in the 1976 horror movie "The Omen"
(and its 2006 remake), the Anti-Christ is born of a jackal.
The jackal comes in 3 species: the golden
or common jackal, the side-striped jackal and the black-backed
or silver-backed jackal. These species differ mainly in the
colour of their jackets and in choice of habitat. The golden
jackal is thought to have evolved in Asia, though it is also
found in southeastern Europe, and in North and East Africa.
It fancies open, grassy plains and can survive in arid deserts.
The other two species- side-striped and black-backed
jackals are said to have evolved in Africa. The side-striped
jackal has distinct black and white stripes along the sides
of its light olive brown or khaki coloured coat. It prefers
to live along watercourses with dense brushwood. It is mostly
found in East, West, and Central Africa, excepting in the
rainforests. Males can reach 12 kg, and are a little bigger
than females.
The black-backed jackal is easy to recognise
by the black hair shroud that lines its back. The black mantle
is patterned with specks of white giving it a silvery appearance.
This jackal prefers dry savannas and semi-desert and is found
exclusively in Africa- particularly Eastern Africa -Kenya,
Tanzania, and Ethiopia, and Southern Africa -South Africa,
Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. This jackal lives for about
7 years in the wild, and for 14 years in captivity.
Jackals are nocturnal and are most active
at daybreak and sunset. They are social beings living in packs
and families. Usually, a family constitutes of a father, mother,
their grown-up offspring -helpers, and their litter of pups.
Together with other families they institute a pack, whose
sole purpose is to look out for one another. Adult males are
the leaders of the pack.
Page
2 Article on Hyenas, Jackals & Wild Dogs: The Sharpest
of Africa's Lesser Predators
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