Spotted hyena

Crocuta crocuta

The world's most social carnivore

An adult spotted hyena in profile showing a sloping back, rounded ears, and dark spots on its flanks.

Status: Safe
Savannahs, scrublands, and mountain forests of sub-Saharan Africa, up to 13,000 feet

Numbers

Weight: 120 lbfemales; males 100 lb
Length: 51 inadult specimens
Height: 30 inat the shoulder
Lifespan: 12 years10 to 12 years in the wild
Bite force: 4500 Nequal to 1,000 lbf
Speed: 37 mphlong-distance pursuit
Territory: 400 sq mi (over)in the Kalahari; less than 15 sq mi in the Ngorongoro Crater

Ten fun facts

that the name Crocuta does not come from Latin for saffron, but from Greek Krokottas, which derives from Sanskrit.
that its bite force reaches four thousand five hundred newtons, supported by one of the strongest skulls among all carnivores.
that its vocal repertoire includes at least eleven distinct calls, including a loud whoop heard up to three miles away.
that its famous laugh is not a sign of joy, but an expression of severe anxiety or fear.
that it lives in complex clans with a fission-fusion structure, separating to hunt and reuniting to defend their territory.
that a clan's home range varies from under fifteen square miles in Ngorongoro to over four hundred square miles in the Kalahari.
that a single spotted hyena can consume up to a third of its total body weight in a single feeding session.
that cubs are born with open eyes and fully formed teeth, immediately competing to establish a strict social hierarchy.
that lion predation causes up to seventy-one percent of all spotted hyena deaths in Etosha National Park.
that while most carnivores leave behind forty percent of a carcass, the spotted hyena eats almost everything, including bones.

The quiz answers

Five questions about this animal. Pick an answer and find out if it is the right one.

Question 1 of 5

Who rules in a spotted hyena clan?

Question 2 of 5

How much force does its bite generate?

Question 3 of 5

How does it get its food?

Question 4 of 5

What does its famous laugh actually mean?

Question 5 of 5

How large can a clan's territory be?

Try it yourself

Experiment 1

Its bite force equals one thousand pounds of force: weigh yourself on a scale and calculate how many times your weight fits into that massive number.

Experiment 2

On a map or atlas, try drawing a circle covering four hundred square miles: that is the territory a single spotted hyena clan can occupy in the Kalahari.

Experiment 3

Walk or run for one mile, perhaps using a pedometer: that is the minimum distance a spotted hyena can chase prey before the animal collapses from exhaustion.

Data from Wikidata (Q178089) and Wikipedia (Spotted hyena).