Right now in East Africa, we’re in the midst of a short rainy season. And for the spotted hyenas of the Serengeti plains, it’s a time of abundance. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.
Richard Estes is a behavioral ecologist and a specialist on African mammals. He made these recordings in the Serengeti, as a group of spotted hyenas clustered around a freshly killed wildebeest, one of their favorite meals.
“This is the bonanza period for spotted hyenas, right now in this time of the year when the short rains are going on. In the Serengeti, the wildebeest and all the migratory game have come to the short grass plains. The hyenas are gathered there in large numbers. But there’s zebras being born then, there’s gazelles being born then. Frequently they have so much to eat that they leave some kills uneaten.”
Hyenas live in female dominated social groups of about thirty-five animals, But just because they live in clans doesn’t mean that they share their prey.
“The spotted hyenas hunt as packs but it’s more one hyena, as a general rule, going out after something and then other hyenas saying ‘hey look, she’s chasing a wounded wildebeest’ or something and then they join in. And then they end up by cooperatively killing the prey. And then they compete like crazy. And they make this incredible amount of noise, because they are not sharing amicably. In a large social group, the dominant female has the earliest access to the best parts of the kill and her offspring tend to grow up and be higher ranking as well.”
Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.