Mammals

The Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena) lives in Africa, India, Pakistan and parts of the Middle East. As mentioned, these Hyenas are scavenger mammals, but will also eat fruit and insects when needed. Striped Hyenas are mainly solitary animals, but have been seen traveling in family groups. Striped Hyenas will never be more than 6 miles from a body of water, and their movement patterns are almost always from watering hole to watering hole.

What do Striped Hyenas look like?

Striped Hyenas look a lot like your average hyena. They have high shoulders, with their back sloping down to their rear. Striped Hyenas are smaller than Spotted Hyenas, although only marginally, and they are thinner as well. At the shoulders, adult Striped Hyenas stand about 29 inches tall, and are about 4.25 ft long. Their tails account for about 11 inches of their length though. Striped Hyenas are a light grey in color and also have black stripes (hence their name); these show on their back and on their legs. Black fur is also dominant on their muzzle and on their throats. Their fur is long, shaggy and disheveled looking.

What do Striped Hyenas eat?

The typical prey of the Striped Hyena are small mammals and reptiles. Rodents and rabbits are common prey, as well as small lizard and tortoises. They have also been known to hunt larger prey as well, such as wild pigs. Striped Hyenas also eat insects like termites and grasshoppers. Some fruits are eaten by Striped Hyenas, and anything they scavenge from human dumps or sites.

Striped Hyena Sub-Species

Striped Hyena Classification

Striped Hyena Pictures

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 2:21 pm and is filed under Mammals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.