Cultural depictions , Musée barrois In Africa, the spotted hyena is usually portrayed as an abnormal and ambivalent animal, considered to be sly, brutish,
necrophagous and dangerous. It further embodies physical power, excessiveness, ugliness, stupidity, as well as
sacredness. Spotted hyenas vary in their folkloric and mythological depictions, depending on the ethnic group from which the tales originate. It is often difficult to know whether or not spotted hyenas are the specific hyena species featured in such stories, particularly in West Africa, as both spotted and striped hyenas are often given the same names. Spotted hyenas feature prominently in the rituals of certain African cultures. In the Gelede cult of the
Yoruba people of Benin and Southwest Nigeria, a spotted hyena mask is used at dawn to signal the end of the ceremony. As the spotted hyena usually finishes the meals of other carnivores, the animal is associated with the conclusion of all things. Among the Korè cult of the
Bambara people in Mali, the belief that spotted hyenas are hermaphrodites appears as an ideal in-between in the ritual domain. The role of the spotted hyena mask in their rituals is often to turn the neophyte into a complete moral being by integrating his male principles with femininity. The Beng people believe that upon finding a freshly killed hyena with its anus everted, one must plug it back in, for fear of being struck down with perpetual laughter. They also view spotted hyena faeces as contaminating, and will evacuate a village if a hyena relieves itself within village boundaries. Traditional Western beliefs about the spotted hyena can be traced back to
Aristotle's
Historia Animalium, which described the species as a
necrophagous, cowardly and potentially dangerous animal. He further described how the hyena uses retching noises to attract dogs. In
On the Generation of Animals, Aristotle criticised the erroneous belief that the spotted hyena is a
hermaphrodite (which likely originated from the confusion caused by the
masculinised genitalia of the female), though his physical descriptions are more consistent with the striped hyena.
Pliny the Elder supported Aristotle's depiction, though he further elaborated that the hyena can imitate human voices. Additionally, he wrote how the hyena was held in high regard among the
Magi, and that hyena body parts could cure different diseases, give protection and stimulate
sexual desire in people. and another who had organized the animators' visit to the
University of California's Field Station for Behavioural Research, where they would observe and sketch captive hyenas
Livestock predation When targeting livestock, the spotted hyena primarily preys upon cattle, sheep and goats, Reports of livestock damage are often not substantiated, and hyenas observed scavenging on a carcass may be mistaken for having killed the animal. The rate at which the species targets livestock may depend on a number of factors, including stock keeping practices, the availability of wild prey and human-associated sources of organic material, such as
rubbish.
Surplus killing has been recorded in South Africa's eastern Cape Province. Attacks on stock tend to be fewer in areas where livestock is corralled by thorn fences and where domestic dogs are present. One study in northern Kenya revealed that 90% of all cases of livestock predation by hyenas occurred in areas outside the protection of thorn fences. Man-eating spotted hyenas tend to be large specimens; a pair of man-eating hyenas, responsible for killing 27 people in Mlanje,
Malawi, in 1962, were weighed at after being shot. Victims of spotted hyenas tend to be women, children and sick or infirm men, Spotted hyenas are widely feared in Malawi, where they have been known to occasionally attack people at night, particularly during the hot season when people sleep outside. Hyena attacks were widely reported in Malawi's
Phalombe plain, to the north of Michesi Mountain. Five deaths were recorded in 1956, five in 1957 and six in 1958. This pattern continued until 1961 when eight people were killed. During the 1960s,
Flying Doctors received over two dozen cases of hyena attacks on humans in Kenya. An anecdotal 2004 news report from the
World Wide Fund for Nature indicates that 35 people were killed by spotted hyenas during a 12-month period in Mozambique along a 20 km stretch of road near the Tanzanian border. corpses are left in the open for spotted hyenas to eat. A corpse rejected by hyenas is seen as having something wrong with it, and liable to cause social disgrace, therefore it is not uncommon for bodies to be covered in fat and blood from a slaughtered
ox. and the
Red Terror. Hyenas habituated to scavenging on human corpses may develop bold behaviours 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.
Urban hyenas In some parts of Africa, spotted hyenas have begun to frequent metropolitan areas, where groups or "clans" of the animals have become a menace. The Ethiopian capital
Addis Ababa is estimated to have up to a thousand resident hyenas which survive by scavenging rubbish tips and preying on feral dogs and cats. There have also been attacks on homeless people. In 2013, a baby boy was killed by hyenas after being snatched from his mother as she camped near the
Hilton Hotel. Some 40 of the animals were reportedly seen alongside a fence bordering the British Embassy compound. In December 2013, a cull was organised and marksmen killed ten hyenas which had occupied wasteland near the city centre.
Hunting and use in traditional medicine warriors at the Lukenia Heights, 23 January 1906 The spotted hyena has been hunted for its body parts for use in
traditional medicine, for amusement, Such incidences are rare in modern Africa, where most tribes, even those known to eat unusual kinds of meat, generally despise hyena flesh. Several authors during the
Scramble for Africa attested that, despite its physical strength, the spotted hyena poses no danger to hunters when captured or cornered. It was often the case that native
skinners refused to even touch hyena carcasses, though this was not usually a problem, as hyena skins were not considered attractive. In Burkina Faso, the hyena's tail is used for medicinal and magical purposes. In Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, the animals' whole body is harvested for
bushmeat and medicine. In Malawi and Tanzania, the genitalia, nose tips and tails are used for traditional medicine. In Mozambique, traditional healers use various spotted hyena body parts, particularly the paws. Kujamaat hunters traditionally treat the spotted hyenas they kill with the same respect due to deceased tribal elders, to avoid retribution from hyena spirits acting on behalf of the dead animal. In the
Cape Colony, spotted hyenas were often hunted by tracking them to their dens and shooting them as they escaped. Another hunting method was to trap them in their dens and dazzle them with torchlight, before stabbing them in the heart with a long knife. When chased by
hunting dogs, spotted hyenas often attack back, unless the dogs are of exceptionally large, powerful breeds.
James Stevenson-Hamilton wrote that wounded spotted hyenas could be dangerous adversaries for hunting dogs, recording an incident in which a hyena managed to kill a dog with a single bite to the neck without breaking the skin. Further difficulties in killing spotted hyenas with dogs include the species' thick skin, which prevents dogs from inflicting serious damage to the animal's muscles.
Spotted hyenas in captivity and as pets with captive spotted hyenas From a
husbandry point of view, hyenas are easily kept, as they have few disease problems and it is not uncommon for captive hyenas to reach 15–20 years of age. One study of the hyena immune system showed that captive hyenas had lower levels for immune defenses than hyenas from the wild population that was used to establish the captive population. Nevertheless, the spotted hyena was historically scantily represented in
zoos, and was typically obtained to fill empty cages until more prestigious species could be obtained. In subsequent years, animals considered to be more charismatic were allocated larger and better quality facilities, while hyenas were often relegated to inferior exhibits. In modern times, the species faces spatial competition from more popular animals, especially large
canids. Also, many captive individuals have not been closely examined to confirm their sexes, thus resulting in non-breeding pairs often turning out to be same-sexed individuals. As a result, many captive hyena populations are facing extinction. During the 19th century, the species was frequently displayed in travelling
circuses as oddities.
Alfred Brehm wrote that the spotted hyena is harder to tame than the striped hyena, and that performing specimens in circuses were not up to standard.
Sir John Barrow described how spotted hyenas in
Sneeuberge were trained to hunt game, writing that they were "as faithful and diligent as any of the common domestic dogs". In Tanzania, spotted hyena cubs may be taken from a communal den by
witchdoctors to increase their social status. If not raised with adult members of their kind, captive spotted hyenas will exhibit scent marking behaviours much later in life than wild specimens. and can be destructive; a captive, otherwise perfectly tame, specimen in the
Tower of London managed to tear an long plank nailed to its recently repaired enclosure floor with no apparent effort. During the research leading to the composition of his monograph
The Spotted Hyena: A Study of Predation and Social Behavior, Hans Kruuk kept a tame hyena he named Solomon. ==References==