Brown Hyena

Quick Take

• Brown hyenas are ranked among Africa's ugliest animals, though their most fearsome feature might surprise you. See their striking features →
• Contrary to what most people assume about hyenas, brown hyenas don't behave the way pop culture suggests. Discover the real behavior →
• Male brown hyenas help raise cubs that almost certainly aren't theirs, a behavior that has everything to do with how the clan is structured. See how cubs are raised →
• These hyenas once roamed an entirely different continent, and their current range tells only part of their story. Explore their current range →

Residents of southern Africa, brown hyenas are the rarest species of hyenas. With their scraggly hair and spindly legs, they regularly rank among Africa’s five ugliest animals, and the largest population sticks to the Kalahari Desert.

Hyena behavior is fascinating. Dr. Kay Holekamp, who’s studied the animals and their habitats, once likened her work to “following a soap opera.” However, the scientific community is still light on brown hyena facts because they have yet to be studied extensively in their natural habitats. Most work to date has centered on spotted hyenas.

Today, brown hyenas can only be found in southern parts of Africa, but the fossil record reveals that they roamed throughout Europe in prehistoric times.

Five Incredible Brown Hyena Facts

• Contrary to popular belief, these hyenas don’t laugh.
• Like all hyena species, brown hyenas have incredibly tough digestive systems and can eat almost anything.
• These hyenas live in clans of about 14 individuals.
• Brown hyenas can travel up to 30 to 50 kilometres in a single night while foraging across their home range.
• These hyenas are the second-largest hyena species.

Classification and Scientific Name

Parahyaena brunnea is the scientific name for these hyenas. The word hyaena comes from the ancient Greek word “hyaina,” which evolved from “hys,” meaning pig or hog. When the Romans conquered southern Europe and northern Africa, hyaina became hyaena, and when Middle English emerged as the primary regional language, hyaena further morphed into hyena.

Brunnea derives from the Latin word “brunneus,” meaning “brown.”

These hyenas are also called strandwolwe, the Afrikaans word for “beach wolves.”

A group of hyenas is called a “cackle.”

Appearance

Hyenas belong to the suborder Feliformia — sometimes called Feloidea — which includes carnivorous mammals with “cat-like” behavioral and physical features.

Brown hyenas are four-legged animals with straight, coarse fur and large pointed ears and short tails. Individuals of the species have downward-sloping spines, stubby hind legs, and longer front legs. Their claws, which are used for defense and digging, are non-retractable, and their tongues are rough.

Animals of the species have long, scraggly hair. Adults also have cream-colored ruffs around their necks. The leg pelage, however, is shorter and features brown and white stripes.

And beware of their powerful jaws, which are their best defensive weapon. To give you an idea, newborn hyenas can crack the femurs of springboks. Like cars, strandwolf jaws wear down over time, and older animals typically suffer from dental wear and tear.

How Big Are Brown Hyenas?

Strandwolves are the second biggest extant hyena species. Male and female hyenas are about the same size. Height-wise, they average between 25 and 34 inches at the shoulder. Length-wise, they run about 51 to 63 inches. Females weigh between 83 and 89 pounds, and males tip the scales at 89 to 96 pounds.

Behavior

To date, scientists haven’t spent much time studying these hyenas. As a result, very little is known about the details of their defense and social structures.

However, researchers know that these hyenas live in clans that mimic wolves’ social groupings. Usually, groups are composed of smaller nuclear families, and everyone works to defend their territory. In some clans, an alpha male and female rule the roost, and occasionally there is a fight for the top male spot. On the female side, the oldest lady serves as the matriarch. Other clans, however, exhibit more equality.

When male brown hyenas come of age, they often leave their original clan to find mates.

Brown hyenas are primarily nocturnal, spending about 80 percent of their active time at night.

Brown Hyena vs. Spotted Hyena

Brown hyenas and spotted hyenas are both mammals in the taxonomic family Hyaenidae. However, there are several physical and behavioral differences between the two species.

Appearance-wise, brown and spotted hyenas have similar anatomies, but their coats are different. The former has long, shaggy brown fur, and the latter sports a shorter spotted pelage. Both species are about the same size. However, spotted hyenas weigh more.

In addition to physical differences, spotted and brown hyenas also behave differently. For starters, spotted hyenas travel in larger groups led by a female alpha. Brown hyenas stick to smaller clans, and the alpha male is typically first in the hierarchical pecking order.

Habitat

These hyenas can be found in the southern African countries of Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa. Primarily, they stick to the desert, semi-arid areas, woodland savannas, and rocky mountainous regions. However, due to habitat destruction, these hyenas can be found scavenging closer to urban centers these days.

The typical home territory of a brown hyena clan is between 90 and 180 square miles.

Diet

These hyenas are primarily scavengers. Occasionally they hunt, but they’re not great at catching prey. They maintain an omnivorous diet but prefer meat carcasses. However, when meat is nowhere to be found, they will settle for insects, eggs, fruits, and fungi.

Like all hyena species, these hyenas do not waste food and eat every scrap of nutrients on a carcass, including bone marrow and hooves. Some hyenas have even been known to eat inanimate objects, like tires and tent materials.

Due to their exceptional sense of smell, they can smell carcasses miles away.

Predators and Threats

Lions and spotted hyenas have been known to kill these hyenas, but the species’ biggest threat is humans. Specifically, farmers who mistakenly believe that brown hyenas are a threat to livestock kill the greatest number of these hyenas annually. Habitat loss and population fragmentation also threaten the species.

Reproduction

These hyenas don’t have a mating season, but most individuals mate between May and August. They reach maturity quickly, and females typically have their first cubs at age two. However, they rarely mate with males in their clan and instead choose nomadic hyenas looking for partners.

The gestation period is approximately three months, and females typically give birth in deeply hidden dens. Sand dunes far away from spotted hyenas and lions are their favorite. Females usually have offspring every 20 months.

Babies

A baby hyena is called a cub. Even though males in the clan usually aren’t the biological fathers, they help raise the group’s young. If two litters are born in the same group simultaneously, the mothers help nurse all the cubs but favor their own. Moreover, all adult members of a clan will drag food to the newborns.

Litters contain between one and five cubs, and a cub typically weighs about two pounds at birth. Unlike other Hyaenidae species, these hyena cubs are born with their eyes closed.

Mothers wean their cubs within a year, and adolescents typically leave their dens at around 18 months.

Lifespan

These hyenas reach full maturity at 30 months, and the average lifespan is 12 to 15 years. Generally, they live shorter lives than other hyena species. Animals in captivity have enjoyed a 40-year lifespan.

Population

Scientists estimate the worldwide population of these hyenas at between 4,000 and 10,000. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature — the world’s foremost expert on endangered species — currently lists brown hyenas as Near Threatened.