Читать книгу The World's Most Dangerous Animals - Kevin Baker Baker - Страница 16

Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) in the Abuko National Reserve in The Gambia. Author: Ikiwaner.

In popular culture, hyenas are sometimes given the reputation of a cowardly trickster―the popular Disney film The Lion King portrayed them as goofy, cowardly scavengers who cringe when adult lions threaten them and are only dangerous in huge packs. The truth about hyenas is a lot less goofy however - and a lot more dangerous.

There are four different species of hyena, which are all part of the family Hyaenidae: spotted hyena, striped hyena, brown hyena and aardwolf. The most well-known hyena is the spotted hyena, which is also the most social of all hyena species. While brown, striped and aardwolf hyenas tend to stick to themselves unless they are mating, spotted hyenas travel (and kill) in packs.

Of these four species, there are two distinct hyena groups: those which are called 'dog-like' hyenas and those which are considered as 'bone-crushing' hyenas. Three of the hyena species are considered as 'bone crushing' hyenas, with only one species with a ‘dog-like’ lineage remaining - the aardwolf.

The size, strength and dietary habits of a hyena will depend on their species. The largest and most physically powerful hyena species is the spotted hyena, which is primarily a hunter; the striped hyena typically scavenges, and may even supplement its diet with fruits; the aardwolf’s diet mainly consists of termites, insects and vegetation and the brown hyena scavenges, can take down zebra, and also eats fruits and insects.

Despite their reputation as cowardly scavengers who run away at the first sign of a fight, most hyena species are considered dangerous to people. The only species of hyena which is considered non-threatening to humans is the dog-like aardwolf, which is often considered helpful among farmers because it eats termites and other crop-damaging insects. The brown hyena may or may not be harmful to people, but it is so rarely encountered that there are no known attacks on people by this species.

Striped hyenas have been known to attack and kill people, although their human kill rate is nothing compared to the most dangerous type of hyena: the spotted hyena.

A spotted hyena has a bite force of 1100 PSI - strong enough to break through the bones of an elephant and chew them up enough to easily digest them. Their bite is among the strongest in the animal kingdom, rivalled only by gorillas, hippos and alligators/crocodiles.

Spotted hyenas have been known to attack and kill people, particularly at night - and most often during the hot season, when people sleep outside due to the heat or because of illness. In the early 20^th century, reports of spotted hyenas killing people who had been taken ill from African sleeping sickness were rampant; packs of hyenas were even known to wait outside of villager's huts, waiting to attack when they opened their doors.

Hyena attacks have not just occurred in the past: the most recent widespread attack by spotted hyenas occurred in 2004, when a reported 35 people in Mozambique were killed in just one year by the spotted hyena.