Spotted Hyenas

Spotted hyenas now live only in Africa in savannahs and deserts, but during the Ice Ages a giant-sized version roamed Europe and Asia and left bones in caves.Spotted hyena cubs are born almost black. It's a few months before they take on the adult coloration.The litters are small compared to most other carnivores -- usually one or two.Spotted hyenas run down their prey like wolves. They rarely stalk it or set up ambushes like lions. But, like most carnivores, they're flexible: they can adapt their hunting techniques to the prey and the situation, and can pass on what they've learned to their young.

Spotted hyenas don't carry food to their pups in their mouths or in their stomachs like

wolves do. Neither do they usually cache their meat like wolves (when they do cache it, it's usually in water, and they frequently forget about it). Most food is eaten right at the kill site or nearby.Spotted hyenas live in clans that can number forty or more members. The whole clan does not all stay together at all times. Individuals may gather in groups to hunt or go off on their own for a time.The greeting ceremony, in which the animals sniff and lick each others' penis or clitoris, lets clan members identify each other.Hyenas mark their territory by secretions from their anal glands. They straddle grass stems or twigs and squat down to paste the smelly substance on them. Some African tribes call this stuff "hyena butter," but it has nothing to do with milk.