Spotted Hyena droppings (Scat)
Predator Conservation Trust: Spotted Hyena information
Because of their size and working as a team, spotted hyaenas are capable of
taking kills from other carnivores including Lions. With their strong teeth
and powerful jaws there is very little left as they can easily crunch through
the bones. Spotted Hyena usually feed as a group with their loud calls quickly
summoning the rest of the clan to a kill.
As well as using their eyes and ears for hunting they have an acute sense of
smell and can detect a carcass from several kilometres away. They are also
capable of chasing their prey for long distances and a chase of 24km has been
recorded showing that spotted hyaenas have excellent endurance.
The spotted hyena has very powerful jaws which enable it to bite through
almost any bone in a carcass, and as a result they are able to eat virtually the
entire carcass. The bones are eaten along with the meat and skin, and this
gives the Spotted Hyena's droppings a distinctive white colour (due to the high
content of powdered bone).
Studies in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater areas of Tanzania observed the
Spotted Hyena preying on a wide variety of species. Wildebeest were the
most commonly hunted species, with Zebra and antelope such as the Thompson's
Gazelle also making up a significant proportion of their diet. Spotted
Hyena have also been observed killing and eating Hares, Waterbuck, Eland,
Buffalo, porcupine, snakes, warthogs, domestic cattle, Lion, other Spotted
Hyena, black rhino, Hippo, tortoise and many more species. Hyena don't
just eat meat however, and have been observed fishing, eating ostrich eggs,
vegetables, fruit, insects and
even dung ! Spotted Hyena are also well known for chewing anything they
find, including tyres on parked aircraft or vehicles, tin cans, shoes and boots,
and anything else they find - including in at least one case, chewing through
the brake line of a researchers land rover while she was studying their
behaviour (Jane van Lawick Goodall). When they come across an ostrich nest
containing eggs the spotted hyena kicks an egg till it hits one of the other
eggs hard enough to break it open so it can consume the egg. In contrast
the brown hyena is able to bite the eggs open even though it has slightly less
powerful jaws.
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