Build Hyenas have relatively short torsos and are fairly massive and
wolf-like in build, but have lower hind quarters, high withers and their backs slope noticeably downward towards their rumps. The forelegs are high, while the hind legs are very short and their necks are thick and short. Their skulls superficially resemble those of large canids, but are much larger and heavier, with shorter facial portions. Hyenas are
digitigrade, with the fore and hind paws having four digits each and sporting bulging pawpads. With the exception of the spotted hyena, hyaenids have striped coats, which they likely inherited from their
viverrid ancestors. Males in most hyena species are larger than females, though the spotted hyena is an exception, as it is the female of the species that outweighs and dominates the male. Also, unlike other hyenas, the
female spotted hyena's external genitalia closely resembles that of the male. Their
dentition is similar to that of the
canid, but is more specialised for consuming coarse food and crushing bones. The
carnassials, especially the upper, are very powerful and are shifted far back to the point of exertion of peak pressure on the jaws. The other teeth, save for the underdeveloped upper
molars, are powerful, with broad bases and cutting edges. The
canines are short, but thick and robust.
Labiolingually, their
mandibles are much stronger at the canine teeth than in canids, reflecting the fact that hyenas crack bones with both their anterior dentition and
premolars, unlike canids, which do so with their post-carnassial molars. The strength of their jaws is such that both striped and spotted hyenas have been recorded to kill dogs with a single bite to the neck without breaking the skin. The spotted hyena is renowned for its strong bite proportional to its size, but a number of other animals (including the
Tasmanian devil) are proportionately stronger. The aardwolf has greatly reduced cheek teeth, sometimes absent in the adult, but otherwise has the same dental formula as the other three species. The
dental formula for all hyena species is: Although hyenas lack
perineal scent glands, they have a large pouch of naked skin located at the anal opening. Large
anal glands above the anus open into this pouch. Several
sebaceous glands are present between the openings of the anal glands and above them. These glands produce a white, creamy secretion that the hyenas paste onto grass stalks. The odor of
this secretion is very strong, smelling of boiling cheap
soap or burning, and can be detected by humans several meters downwind. The secretions are primarily used for
territorial marking, though both the aardwolf will
spray them when attacked.
Behavior Hyenas
groom themselves often like
felids and
viverrids, and their way of licking their genitals is very cat-like (sitting on the lower back, legs spread with one leg pointing vertically upward). They defecate in the same manner as other Carnivora, though they never
raise their legs as canids do when urinating, as urination serves no territorial function for them. Instead, hyenas
mark their territories using their anal glands, a trait found also in viverrids and
mustelids, but not canids and
felids. When attacked by lions or dogs, striped will
feign death, though the spotted hyena will defend itself ferociously. The striped hyena is comparatively silent, its vocalizations being limited to a chattering laugh and howling.
Mating between hyenas involves a number of short copulations with brief intervals, unlike canids, who generally
engage in a single, drawn out copulation. In contrast, striped hyena cubs are born with adult markings, closed eyes and small ears. Hyenas do not
regurgitate food for their young and male spotted hyenas play no part in raising their cubs, The striped hyena is primarily a scavenger, though it will also attack and kill any animals it can overcome, and will supplement its diet with fruit. The spotted hyena, though it also scavenges occasionally, is an active pack hunter of medium to large sized
ungulates, which it catches by wearing them down in long chases and dismembering them in a canid-like manner. Spotted hyenas may kill as many as 95% of the animals they eat. The aardwolf is primarily an insectivore, specialised for feeding on
termites of the genus
Trinervitermes and
Hodotermes, which it consumes by licking them up with its long, broad tongue. An aardwolf can eat 300,000
Trinervitermes on a single outing. Spotted hyenas are one of the few mammals other than bats known to survive infection with rabies virus and have shown little or no disease-induced mortality during outbreaks in sympatric carnivores, in part due to the high concentration of
antibodies present in their saliva. Despite this perceived unique disease resistance, little is known about the immune system of spotted hyenas, and even less is known about other Hyaenidae species. ==Relationships with humans==