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Spotted, or laughing hyena - CROCUTA CROCUTA
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Hyena": "Hyena" comes from the Greek word "hus," which means "swine." But it is not closely related to the pig, nor to the cat, nor to the dog. It is in a family of its own.
Location: Sub-Saharan Atrica except densely forested areas and the so'uthern tip of the continent
Habitat: Savanna and open grassland.
Description: This is the largest of all the hyenas, with a robust powerful body, a large head, large eyes, and rounded ears. The color of the coat is variable but tends to brown, yellow, or gray, with numerous dark spots. The short tail has a black tuft at the tip. The hind legs and the muzzle are sometimes black. It can grow to over six feet long, twelve inches of which is tail. It can weigh up to 180 pounds.
Behavior: This hyena is generally nocturnal, but does move around during the day. It lives alone or in pairs, and it patrols a large territory often following other large herbivores on their migratory routes. It feeds on carcasses, but can attack and tear apart animals the size of a gnu. It has learned to follow herbivores during the calving season, and will kill the young almost as soon as they are born. It enlarges burrows abandoned by aardvarks, or if may dig its own.
Reproduction: During the courtship and mating period it sometimes gathers in large packs, which are quite noisy. The gestation period lasts for about 110 days, after which one or two young (and occasionally two) are born. The offspring nurse for about 18 months.
Go to the Carnivore Page to learn more about all the meat-eating animals.
Go to the Striped Hyena for
the only other Hyena listed in America Zoo.
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