We're back with another episode (and special guest UHC), this time discussing the heavily misunderstood spotted hyena. Learn about all the misconceptions presented by hyena haters and lovers alike, and how this important African predator is in more danger than you might think.

Share some hyena love in the comments!

Inspired by the Skeleton Crew:
@skeletoncrew8122

Check out Unnatural History Channel, and thanks for being a great guest!
@unnaturalhistorychannel

Here are several conservation groups whose work we mentioned in the video:
@HyenaProject @pantheracats @EWTSouthAfrica @ZCP_Zambia @lionlandscapes2893

Spotted Hyena information citations

Smith, J. E., Kolowski, J. M., Graham, K. E., Dawes, S. E., & Holekamp, K. E. (2008). Social and ecological determinants of fission–fusion dynamics in the spotted hyaena. Animal Behaviour, 76(3), 619636.

Lehmann, K. D., Montgomery, T. M., MacLachlan, S. M., Parker, J. M., Spagnuolo, O. S., VandeWetering, K. J., ... & Holekamp, K. E. (2017). Lions, hyenas and mobs (oh my!). Current zoology, 63(3), 313322.

Cooper, S. M. (1991). Optimal hunting group size: the need for lions to defend their kills against loss to spotted hyaenas. African Journal of Ecology, 29(2), 130136. White, P. A. (2005).

Maternal rank is not correlated with cub survival in the spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta. Behavioral Ecology, 16(3), 606613. Hofer, H., & East, M. L. (2008). Siblicide in Serengeti spotted hyenas: a longterm study of maternal input and cub survival. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 62, 341351.

Davidian Eve and Höner Oliver P. 2022. Kinship and similarity drive coordination of breedinggroup choice in male spotted hyenasBiol. Lett.182022040220220402

Richardson, Philip & Plug, Ina. (2009). Bone crushing carnivores and their significance to osteodystrophy in griffon vulture chicks. Journal of Zoology J ZOOL. 210. 2343. 10.1111/j.14697998.1986.tb03618.x.

Vissia, S. & Wadhwa, R. & Langevelde, Frank. (2021). Co‐occurrence of high densities of brown hyena and spotted hyena in central Tuli, Botswana. Journal of Zoology. 314. 10.1111/jzo.12873.

O'Bryan, Christopher & Braczkowski, Alexander & Beyer, Hawthorne & Carter, Neil & Watson, James & McDonaldMadden, Eve. (2018). The contribution of predators and scavengers to human wellbeing. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 2. 229236. 10.1038/s4155901704212.

Hanssen, Lise & Périquet, Stéphanie & Wiesel, Ingrid & Potgieter Thomson, Gail. (2022). Spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta.

Kruuk H 1972. The Spotted Hyena: a Study of Predation and Social Behavior. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Creel S, Matandiko W, Schuette P, et al. Changes in African large carnivore diets over the past halfcentury reveal the loss of large prey. J Appl Ecol. 2018; 55: 2908–2916.

Braczkowski, A.R., O’Bryan, C.J., Lessmann, C. et al. The unequal burden of humanwildlife conflict. Commun Biol 6, 182 (2023).

Bocherens, Hervé. (2015). Isotopic tracking of large carnivore palaeoecology in the mammoth steppe. Quaternary Science Reviews. 117. 10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.03.018.