Hyenas, massive and opportunistic carnivores, share the African landscape with the tiny, fast elephant shrew. This interaction highlights the vast difference in size and niche between the species. Hyenas are known for their powerful jaws, while elephant shrews are small, insect-eating specialists. Their ecological roles are clearly separated, as size and behavior dictate predator-prey relationships.
The Direct Answer: Hyena Dietary Preferences
Elephant shrews are not a typical or intentional prey item for any of the four hyena species found in Africa. The Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) primarily targets large- to medium-sized ungulates, such as wildebeest, zebra, and antelopes. These large kills provide the necessary caloric return for a predator that can weigh between 90 and 190 pounds.
An elephant shrew, generally weighing less than a pound, offers almost no energetic reward compared to the effort required to catch it. Hyenas are opportunistic and consume smaller prey like rabbits or rodents, but these are secondary to large game or carrion. The energetic mismatch makes the consistent pursuit of such small, agile mammals an inefficient hunting strategy.
The other hyena species also do not focus on this micro-prey. Brown and Striped Hyenas are scavengers, relying on carcasses and supplementing their diet with fruit, insects, and small animals. The Aardwolf, the smallest hyaenid, is a specialized insectivore whose diet consists almost entirely of termites and larvae. None of these dietary profiles suggest a focus on the elephant shrew.
Elephant Shrews: Size, Habitat, and Survival Strategy
Elephant shrews, or sengis, are small, ground-dwelling mammals belonging to the order Macroscelidea. Despite their name, they are not true shrews but are related to elephants, aardvarks, and sea cows. Their size varies significantly, with the smallest weighing one ounce and the largest reaching up to 1.5 pounds.
They possess an elongated, flexible snout, long legs, and a lean body adapted for speed and agility. Sengis are diurnal, active during the day, which contrasts with the nocturnal habits of most large carnivores, including hyenas. They maintain an intricate network of cleared trails, allowing them to move with extreme speed.
When startled, a sengi can run up to 18 miles per hour and leap several feet, disappearing quickly into dense cover or rock crevices. This combination of small size, high speed, and reliance on a dense trail system makes them difficult targets for any large predator. Some species emit a musky scent when alarmed, which may deter generalist carnivores.
Who Preys on Elephant Shrews?
The predators of elephant shrews are smaller, more agile, and often specialized hunters that operate in the dense cover the sengis inhabit. Snakes, such as cobras and puff adders, are threats that ambush the shrews along their paths. Diurnal activity also makes them vulnerable to Birds of Prey, including eagles and owls, which hunt from above.
Other small, terrestrial carnivores, such as mongooses, genets, and servals, prey on them. These predators use stealth or quick pursuit in dense vegetation, a strategy that contrasts sharply with the hyena’s powerful, endurance-based hunting style. The ecological pressure on the elephant shrew population comes from these smaller, specialized hunters.