Striped hyena

Striped hyena fossils are common in Africa, with records going back as far as the Early Pleistocene. The species may have evolved from Hyaenictitherium namaquensis of Pliocene Africa. As fossil striped hyenas are absent from the Mediterranean region, it is likely that the species is a relatively late invader to Eurasia, having likely spread outside Africa only after the extirpation of spotted hyenas from Asia at the end of the last glacial period. The striped hyena occurred for some time in Europe during the Pleistocene, having been particularly widespread in France and Germany. It also occurred in Montmaurin, Hollabrunn in Austria, the Furninha Cave in Portugal, and the Genista Caves in Gibraltar. The European form was similar in appearance to modern populations, but was larger, being comparable in size to the brown hyena. == Description ==

Build The striped hyena has a fairly massive, but short torso set on long legs. The hind legs are significantly shorter than the forelimbs, thus causing the back to slope downwards. The legs are relatively thin and weak, with the forelegs being bent at the carpal region. The neck is thick, long and largely immobile, while the head is heavy and massive with a shortened facial region. The eyes are small, while the sharply pointed ears are very large, broad and set high on the head. Like all hyenas, the striped hyena has bulky pads on its paws, as well as blunt but powerful claws. The tail is short and the terminal hairs do not descend below the achilles tendon. The female striped hyena's genitalia are transiently masculinized, although it lacks the enlarged clitoris and false scrotal sack noted in the female genitalia of the spotted hyena. The female has 3 pairs of nipples. Adult weight can range from , averaging at about . Body length can range from , not counting a tail of , and shoulder height is between . The male has a large pouch of naked skin located at the anal opening. Large anal glands open into it from above the anus. Several sebaceous glands are present between the openings of the anal glands and above them. The anus can be everted up to a length of 5 cm, and is everted during social interaction and mating. When attacked, the striped hyena everts its rectum and sprays a pungent smelling liquid from its anal glands. Its sense of smell is acute, though its eyesight and sense of hearing are weak. The skull of the striped hyena differs from that of the brown and spotted hyena by its smaller size and slightly less massive build. It is nonetheless still powerfully structured and well adapted to anchoring exceptionally strong jaw muscles The dental formula is . Fur The winter coat is unusually long and uniform for an animal its size, with a luxuriant mane of tough, long hairs along the back from the occiput to the base of the tail. The coat is generally coarse and bristly, though this varies according to season. In winter, the coat is fairly dense, soft, and has well-developed underfur. The guard hairs are long on the flanks, long on the mane and on the tail. In summer, the coat is much shorter and coarser, and lacks underfur, though the mane remains large. == Distribution and habitat==

, India The striped hyena's historical range encompassed Africa north of and including the Sahel zone, eastern Africa south into Tanzania, the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East up to the Mediterranean Sea, Turkey, Iraq, the Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia), Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan (excluding the higher areas of Hindukush), and the Indian subcontinent. Today the species' distribution is patchy in most ranges, thus indicating that it occurs in many isolated populations, particularly in most of west Africa, most of the Sahara, parts of the Middle East, the Caucasus, and central Asia. It does however have a continuous distribution over large areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania. Its modern distribution in Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan is unknown with some sizable large number in India in open areas of Deccan Plateau. == Behaviour and ecology ==

Social and territorial behaviour , India The striped hyena is a primarily nocturnal animal, which typically only leaves its den at the onset of total darkness, returning before sunrise. Striped hyenas typically live alone or in pairs, though groups of up to seven animals are known in Libya. They are generally not territorial, with home ranges of different groups often overlapping each other. Home ranges in the Serengeti have been recorded to be , while one in the Negev was calculated at . While the composition of juvenile scent pouch bacteria is variable, adult striped hyenas have more uniform bacterial communities in their scent pouches, with specific types and amounts of each taxon present. In aggressive encounters, the black patch near the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae is erected. When fighting, striped hyenas will bite at the throat and legs, but avoid the mane, which serves as a signaling device. When greeting each other, they lick the mid-back region, sniff each other's noses, extrude their anal pouch, or paw each other's throats. The gestation period lasts 90–91 days. Striped hyena cubs are born with adult markings, closed eyes, and small ears. This is in marked contrast to newborn spotted hyena cubs which are born almost fully developed, though with black, unmarked coats. Their eyes open after 7–8 days, and the cubs leave their dens after one month. Cubs are weaned at the age of 2 months, and are then fed by both parents. By autumn, the cubs are half the size of their parents. In the wild, striped hyenas can live for 12 years, while in captivity they have been known to reach 23. Diet forest division, India The striped hyena is primarily a scavenger which feeds mainly on ungulate (such as zebra, wildebeest, gazelle and impala) carcasses in different stages of decomposition, fresh bones, cartilages, ligaments, and bone marrow. It crushes long bones into fine particles and swallows them, though sometimes entire bones are eaten whole. The striped hyena is not a fussy eater, though it has an aversion to vulture flesh. It will occasionally attack and kill any animal it can overcome, like hare, rodents, reptiles and birds. It hunts prey by running it down, grabbing its flanks or groin and inflicting mortal wounds by tearing out the viscera. In Turkmenistan, the species is recorded to feed on wild boar, kulan, porcupines, and tortoises. A seasonal abundance of oil willow fruits is an important food source in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, while in the Caucasus, it is grasshoppers. Both species have been known to share dens on occasion. Rarely, striped hyenas have been known to travel with and live amongst wolf packs, with each species doing the other no harm. Both predators may benefit from this unusual alliance, as the hyenas have better senses of smell and greater strength, and the wolves may be better at tracking large prey. Red foxes may compete with striped hyenas on large carcasses. Red foxes may give way to hyenas on unopened carcasses, as the latter's stronger jaws can easily tear open flesh which is too tough for foxes. Foxes may harass hyenas, using their smaller size and greater speed to avoid the hyena's attacks. Sometimes, foxes seem to deliberately torment hyenas even when there is no food at stake. Some foxes may mistime their attacks, and are killed. The species frequently scavenges from the kills of felids such as tigers, leopards, cheetahs, and caracals. A caracal can drive a subadult hyena from a carcass. The hyena usually wins in one-to-one disputes over carcasses with leopards, cheetahs, and tiger cubs, but is dominated by adult tigers. and the sloth bear in Balaram Ambaji Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Indian State of Gujarat. == In culture ==

In folklore, religion, and mythology . Striped hyenas are frequently referenced in Middle Eastern literature and folklore, typically as symbols of treachery and stupidity. In the Near and Middle East, striped hyenas are generally regarded as physical incarnations of jinn. Zakariya al-Qazwini (1204–1283) wrote in Arabic of a tribe of people called "Hyena People." In his book Marvels of Creatures and the Strange Things Existing (), he wrote that should one of this tribe be in a group of 1,000 people, a hyena could pick him out and eat him. The image of striped hyenas in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Palestine is more varied. Though feared, striped hyenas were also symbolic of love and fertility, leading to numerous varieties of love medicine derived from hyena body parts. Among the Baloch people, witches or magicians are said to ride striped hyenas at night. In Gnosticism, the Archon Astaphaios is depicted with a hyænid face. Predation on livestock and crops waste in Dahod district, Gujarat, India The striped hyena is sometimes implicated in the killing of livestock, particularly goats, sheep, dogs and poultry. Larger stock is sometimes reportedly taken, though it is possible that these are cases of scavenging being mistaken for actual predation. Although most attacks occur at low densities, a substantial number reputedly occur in Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iraq, and possibly Morocco. In Turkmenistan, striped hyenas kill dogs, while they also kill sheep and other small animals in the Caucasus; there were even reports that striped hyenas have killed horses and donkeys in Iraq during the mid-twentieth century. Sheep, dogs, horses, and goats are also preyed upon in North Africa, Israel, Iran, Pakistan, and India. Striped hyenas also cause damage on occasion to melon fields and to date palms in date plantations in Israel and Egypt, and to plantations of watermelons and plantations of honey melons in Turkmenistan. Several attacks have occurred in India; in 1962, nine children were thought to have been taken by hyenas in the town of Bhagalpur in the Bihar State in a six-week period A census on wild animal attacks during a five-year period in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh showed that hyenas had only attacked three people, the lowest figure when compared to deaths caused by wolves, gaur, boar, elephants, tigers, leopards, and sloth bears. Though attacks on live humans are rare, striped hyenas will scavenge on human corpses. In Turkey, stones are placed on graves to stop hyenas digging the bodies out. In World War I, the Turks imposed conscription (safar barlek) on Lebanon; people escaping from the conscription fled north, where many died and were subsequently eaten by hyenas. Algerian hunters historically considered the killing of striped hyenas as beneath their dignity, due to the animal's reputation for cowardice. A similar attitude was held by British sportsmen in British India. On some rare occasions, hyenas were ridden down and speared by men on horseback. Although hyenas were generally not fast enough to outrun horses, they had the habit of doubling and turning frequently during chases, thus ensuring long pursuits. Generally though, hyenas were hunted more as pests than sporting quarries. Their scavenging damages skulls, skins and other articles from hunter's camps, which made them unpopular among sportsmen. In the Soviet Union, hyena hunting was not specially organised. Most hyenas were caught incidentally in traps meant for other animals. Striped hyenas as food A mural depicted on Mereruka's tomb in Sakkara indicates that Old Kingdom Egyptians forcefed hyenas in order to fatten them up for food, European writers in the 19th and early 20th centuries recorded that striped hyenas were eaten by some Egyptian peasants, Arabian Bedouins, Palestinian laborers, Sinai Bedouins, Tuaregs, Among some Bedouins of Arabia at the beginning of the 20th century, hyena meat was generally considered medicine, rather than food. though they emit a strong odour which no amount of bathing will cover. Although they kill dogs in the wild, striped hyenas raised in captivity can form bonds with them. == References ==