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Spotted hyena killing a blue wildebeest. Unlike other large African carnivores, spotted hyenas do not preferentially prey on any species, and only African buffalo and giraffe are significantly avoided. Spotted hyenas prefer prey with a body mass range of 56–182 kg (123–401 lb), with a mode of 102 kg (225 lb). [11]
Like most predators, hyena attacks tend to target women, children, and infirm men, though both species can and do attack healthy adult males on occasion. The spotted hyena is the more dangerous of the two species, being larger, more predatory, and more aggressive than the striped hyena. The brown hyena and aardwolf are not known to prey on humans.
Hyenas habituated to scavenging on human corpses may develop bold behaviors towards living people: hyena attacks on people in southern Sudan increased during the Second Sudanese Civil War, when human corpses were readily available to them. [74] Although spotted hyenas have been known to prey on humans in modern times, such incidents are rare.
The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), also known as the laughing hyena, [3] is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus Crocuta, native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN due to its widespread range and large numbers estimated between 27,000 and 47,000 individuals. [ 1 ]
This is a list of large carnivores known to prey on humans. The order Carnivora consists of numerous mammal species specialized in eating flesh. This list does not include animal attacks on humans by domesticated species (dogs), or animals held in zoos, aquaria, circuses, private homes or other non-natural settings.
Ambush predators usually remain motionless (sometimes hidden) and wait for prey to come within ambush distance before pouncing. Ambush predators are often camouflaged, and may be solitary. Pursuit predation becomes a better strategy than ambush predation when the predator is faster than the prey. [2] Ambush predators use many intermediate ...
For example, spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) and lions (Panthera leo) in Africa share similar habitats and prey but have different hunting strategies. Hyenas use stamina to chase prey over long distances, while lions rely on ambush hunting. This difference in hunting strategies helps reduce direct competition for food (Hayward & Slotow, 2009).
To capture prey, predators have a spectrum of pursuit modes that range from overt chase (pursuit predation) to a sudden strike on nearby prey (ambush predation). [ 25 ] [ 39 ] [ 12 ] Another strategy in between ambush and pursuit is ballistic interception , where a predator observes and predicts a prey's motion and then launches its attack ...