Hyena was considered the most mysterious and little-studied animal. There are incredible rumors about hyenas, like that dogs lose their voice and mind if a shadow from this animal falls on them; that after the death of a hyena, their eyes turn into stones and the like.
According to the popular beliefs of Africans, the hyena is associated with evil spirits and she herself is a werewolf. It was believed that sorcerers turn into hyenas at night. And the Arabs, when they killed a hyena, buried its head deep in the sand so as not to take revenge.
From ancient times, people were amazed by the dexterity and perseverance with which these predators tear up the graves, because they were afraid, like evil demons, hated and exterminated.
According to Ovid's Metamorphoses, a hyena is a hermaphrodite and is capable of changing its sex. Pliny, for example, told how she, imitating the voice of a person, calls children or adults out of the house, and then tears them apart. Elian, the author of Motley Tales and On the Nature of Animals, wrote: “On a full moon, the hyena turns its back to the light, so that its shadow falls on the dogs. Bewitched by the shadow, they become numb, unable to utter a sound; the hyenas carry them away and devour them. The Libyans even put a prickly collar on the dog to protect it from the hyena's teeth.
If anything good was said about hyenas, it was only about the drugs prepared from her organs. The liver, for example, helped with eye diseases, the cervical vertebrae calmed the nerves. At the same time, Alfred Brehm wrote: "According to the Arabs, if a person eats the brain of a hyena, he will certainly go mad." But the skin of a hyena has been attributed to magical properties for a long time. Going to sow, peasants often wrapped a basket of seeds with a piece of this skin. It was believed that this would protect the crops from hail.
E. Hemingway, an inveterate hunter and connoisseur of Africa, knew only one thing about hyenas - "they are hermaphrodites, desecrating the dead." And such myths have existed for a long time.
Only in 1984 at the University of Berkeley (California, America) was opened a center for the study of these most misunderstood and, possibly, the strangest animals on the planet. Observing a colony of spotted hyenas here, scientists have taken a closer look at these mysterious animals. And many of the myths have been dispelled.
It turned out that the hyena's digestive organs allow them to feed on termites, eggs, snakes, birds, fish, buffaloes, and carrion. Even with horns, hooves, belts and old soles - their stomachs will digest everything. It is not for nothing that there are no skeletons lying around in the African savannah (as, for example, in Central Asia): everyone "removes" hyenas. Their stomach can hold up to 15 kg of food at a time. By the way, if you are lucky enough to be on the melon, the hyena will gladly feast on a melon or watermelon.
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Another feature of hyenas is their phenomenal resistance to bacteria and viruses. Anthrax killed over 4,000 hippos in Luangwa in 1987. They were all eaten by hyenas, and this stopped the spread of the infection.
They are the only predators that can crush the largest bones of all animal species, except for elephants, with their jaws and teeth. And by feeding on carrion, hyenas, along with vultures, act as orderlies and prevent the occurrence and spread of dangerous diseases.
Biologists now recognize that spotted hyenas occupy an important place in the savannah ecosystem. However, not so long ago they were considered pests of agriculture, and Africans killed animals indiscriminately. They, in turn, responded in kind to the person. Under the influence of hunger, predators attacked livestock right before the eyes of people, and even now they attack livestock, choosing the moment of childbirth. At night, they can attack a lonely traveler, as well as sleeping or weakened people, or even carry away children.
At one time hyenas were considered relatives of dogs. Now zoologists have separated hyenas from canids and united them into one superfamily with civet and feline. There are four species in the hyena family: the aardwolf, striped, brown and spotted hyena. Outwardly, they resemble dogs or wolves with powerful jaws and short, crooked legs. In particular, their hind legs are short and curved, but nevertheless they are very powerful. Scientists explain this structure by the fact that the hyena often needs to drag the prey in reverse, it also allows her to pull out pieces of meat from the corpse of a large animal.
Real hyenas have four fingers on their paws, and an earthen wolf has five. The claws are long, but blunt, convenient for digging holes and digging out graves. The weight of hyenas ranges from 10 to 82 kg, with the minimum in the earthen wolf, the maximum in the spotted hyena. The body is in length - from one meter to 166 cm, respectively. The general color tone is dirty, yellowish-gray or brown, with a striped or spotted pattern all over the body or only on the legs. The life span of hyenas is approximately 24 years.
Simulating wild screams, howls and giggles, they strike fear into the animals that are nearby. An important means of protection is the secretion of the anal glands, which scare away predators.
Hyenas are found in Africa, the Middle East, Transcaucasia, India. They inhabit various landscapes from hot deserts to mountain forests, but prefer steppes and savannas. The mountains rise up to 4000 meters above sea level.
Of the four species, spotted hyenas are the most incomprehensible, strangest species. A flock of spotted hyenas is not a random gathering, but a clan, led by a female - an absolute dictator. All the rest are subordinates and must provide her with the best place to rest and the best pieces of loot.
The center of the clan's life is the lair. Hyenas prefer to live in open rocky places covered with grass and bushes. During the day they hide in thickets, caves and dug holes, and after sunset they go hunting.
As a rule, the clan includes up to 60 individuals, they keep an area of about eight square kilometers around the den, which is protected from other relatives. A hyena, entering the territory of a foreign clan, gets off with injuries, but sometimes the guards who go into a rage kill the stranger and eat them.
At times, a conspiracy matures within the clan: several females, having united, can overthrow the hated matriarch, so that one of them takes her place and rules with the same ferocity.
The main food of spotted hyenas is wildebeest and buffalo calves. As a rule, hyenas hunt at night, but they can attack a stray animal in broad daylight. The fastest and strongest are hunting zebras. Having caught up with the animal, the hyena tears it to shreds. The whole clan will immediately rush to the successful hunter - for their share.
Hyenas can chase an antelope or zebra for 5 kilometers at a speed of 65 km / h. Lions and leopards fizzle out earlier. The powerful musculature of the forelimbs and chest allows the hyena to carry very heavy prey over long distances. For example, she carries away a buffalo calf at a gallop.
In Israel, hyenas eat almost everything. They also learned how to gnaw through irrigation pipes to drink water. It is possible to see a hyena in the wild at night in the headlights on the side of the road. They love to walk along highways collecting food leftovers that people throw out of their cars.
The hyena itself does not pose a particular danger to large predators, but their flock can cope with a very large and dangerous animal - precisely because they act together, as a single collective. For example, in scientific experiments, two hyenas quickly realized that the door behind which the food was located could be opened by pulling two ropes at the same time.
Hyenas often drive away lions when they think to take away their prey, for example, a zebra, which the hyenas drove with the whole flock. Among the predators, only hyenas are ready to fight back the "king of beasts". Hyenas also attack old, sick lions and tear them apart - in a matter of minutes they devour them right with their skin and bones.
It happens in another way. Let's say a flock of hyenas has driven a zebra. Several hardened lions come running to their excited screams, scatter the whole flock and feast on someone else's prey. Offended hyenas whine nearby, and the kings of beasts calmly carve up the carcass to this cacophony. After the lions leave, the hyenas eat up the remains and, when they are full, return to the den.
Another feature of hyenas is that they are attracted by any bad smell, even the smell of a skunk. The position on the clear social ladder of each clan member depends on his spirit. And since they are scavengers, the smell must match. This is probably why hyenas are pumped out with special pleasure in the rotting remains of dead animals. Hence the simple moral of the hyena's "life and career" success: if you smell worse, you live better.
Scientists have carried out an interesting experiment on hyenas kept in captivity. They treated them with a variety of scents - from pleasant floral aromas to the stink of rotting meat. To hyenas, fragrant flowers, the attitude of congeners did not change. But animals, treated with disgusting, from the point of view of man, smells, cause lively curiosity and even worship of other members of the clan: the outsiders of the flock on its wave broke into leaders.
"Hyena is the most caring mother among predators," says Professor Stephen Glickman, who initiated the study of hyenas at Berkeley. Unlike lionesses, hyenas drive males away from prey, admitting only babies to it first. In addition, they feed their young with milk for quite a long time - almost 20 months.
Pregnancy of the female lasts up to about 100 days, after which two or three two-kilogram cubs are born with button eyes and black fluffy fur. Due to their strange anatomy, childbirth in hyenas is very difficult and sometimes lasts 12 hours. In the wild, the mother herself often does not survive - during childbirth, lions attack the hyenas and devour them.
Already a few minutes later, the newborns rush at each other, trying to immediately gnaw their own kind. They are the only mammals that are born with sharp canines and incisors. In addition, unlike felines, hyenas are born sighted - and immediately see only enemies around them. The struggle between them is not for life, but for death. About a quarter of the cubs die as soon as they are born - they die because they were bitten by their own brothers.
Gradually, the passion for murderous fights passes. In the first weeks of life, the testosterone content in the blood of young "cannibals" is steadily declining. The survivors of these feuds are reconciled with each other.
All their lives, female hyenas behave more aggressively than males. Trying to explain this, American zoologists proposed such a hypothesis. Throughout their history, hyenas have devoured their prey in packs. While the adults, pushing the kids away, tormented the meat, little hyenas were left with only scraps. From such an unusual diet, they starved and soon died. Nature favored those females who, rushing at other hyenas, cleared a place near the prey for their babies. The more aggressive the mother behaved, the more chances her offspring were to survive. Be that as it may, the ladies, having received the scepter, assumed social primacy - by establishing matriarchy.
Hyenas inherit their position in society from their mothers. The daughter of the matriarch, according to her position in the pack, follows immediately after her mother. Having matured, she will be the heir to the throne. But that doesn't happen often. Mortality among hyenas is high, and if the mother dies early, then the kitten's privileged position comes to an end.
Going to hunt, the lactating female leaves her kittens in the care of the guards. Hyenas look after other people's kittens, if necessary, protecting their babies, they will protect strangers too. But they will never feed them. And if the mother dies, no one will help the weak hungry baby.
Males have their own hierarchy. Only those on the upper steps have the privilege to mate with females. They are even allowed to sleep near the den. The father of the kittens of the dominant female and most of the other kittens of the clan is the highest-ranking male.
Because the ladies are dominant, the male cannot force them to love. It remains to be patient and wait. Months, years. If you endured, waited for the love of a high-ranking female, automatically increased your rank. So males are simply forced to develop patience in themselves.
British and German zoologists argue that friendly behavior more often wins women's hearts than a show of strength.
When a female approaches, the male respectfully makes way for her, lowers his head and presses his ears as a sign of obedience. And he will notice the slightest hint of irritation in the mistress's eyes - she is in a hurry to move away …
Hyenas can be tamed easily. Alfred Brehm had two tame hyenas at home. “They jumped merrily at the sight of me, put their front paws on my shoulders, followed me through the streets; during our dinner they sat on their hind legs like dogs, waiting for a handout. They very willingly gnaw sugar, eat bread, especially soaked in tea, but as a rule their food consisted of dogs, which we deliberately shot in the neighborhood."
In the small Ethiopian town of Harar, there is a tradition of feeding hyenas. Locals explain that in this way they appease them so that they do not attack people and livestock during a drought. A specially trained person from hand and even from mouth to mouth feeds absolutely wild hyenas, who come to his call from the desert. The secret of the ability to feed and understand the animal is passed down from generation to generation.
Today, the brown and striped hyena are listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
O. Ochkurova
