A hyena is a carnivore. These animals primarily consume animal tissues for nutrition. While often seen as mere scavengers, hyenas are highly adapted predators that play a significant role in their ecosystems. Their physical traits align with a meat-based diet.
Understanding Carnivores
A carnivore is an animal whose diet consists mainly or exclusively of animal matter, such as muscle, fat, and other soft tissues. Carnivores are distinct from herbivores, which consume plants, and omnivores, which eat both plants and animals. There are further classifications based on the percentage of meat in their diet.
Animals whose diet is at least 70% meat are known as hypercarnivores or obligate carnivores. These animals often lack the physiological adaptations to properly digest plant material, relying solely on animal flesh for essential nutrients. Mesocarnivores obtain 50% to 70% of their diet from meat, supplementing with other foods. Hypocarnivores consume less than 30% meat and can be considered omnivores. Spotted hyenas are primarily hypercarnivores, with their diet overwhelmingly composed of meat.
Hyena Diet and Hunting
Hyenas are highly efficient hunters, with hunting providing the majority of their food. Spotted hyenas, for example, directly kill between 43% and 95% of the food they consume. Their diet primarily consists of medium to large ungulates, which are hoofed mammals. Common prey items include wildebeest, zebra, and various antelope species like impala and gazelles. They can also hunt larger animals such as young rhinos, buffalo, and even young giraffes.
Hunting strategies vary by prey size and number of hyenas. While single hyenas hunt smaller animals, larger prey requires coordinated group efforts. Hyena clans, up to 80 individuals, work together to exhaust targets through persistence hunting, chasing animals at speeds up to 37 miles per hour (60 kilometers per hour). Communication via vocalizations coordinates these hunts. Clan hunting success can reach 74%, far higher than the 15% for solitary hunting.
While hyenas are skilled hunters, they also opportunistically scavenge. This scavenging behavior complements their hunting, allowing them to utilize carcasses left by other predators, like lions. Their ability to consume almost every part of a carcass, including bones, skin, and hooves, minimizes waste in their environment.
Unique Adaptations for Their Diet
Hyenas possess several adaptations that enable their carnivorous lifestyle. Their jaws are among the strongest of any mammal, with spotted hyenas capable of generating a bite force of approximately 1,100 pounds per square inch (PSI). This pressure allows them to crush large bones, accessing nutrient-rich marrow that other predators cannot reach. Their teeth are also specialized, featuring heavy canines for gripping and sharp carnassials for slicing meat and tough sinews.
Their digestive system is robust, capable of processing bones and hide. Only indigestible materials like hair, horns, and hooves are regurgitated as pellets. Beyond physical strength, hyenas exhibit high endurance for long chases, aided by their powerful forequarters and an energy-efficient loping gait. They also possess keen senses of smell, sight, and hearing, which are important for locating prey or carrion. Their keen auditory perception allows them to detect sounds of other predators feeding from distances of up to 6.2 miles (10 kilometers).
Social structure and intelligence further contribute to their hunting prowess. Spotted hyenas live in complex matriarchal clans where teamwork is important for hunting larger prey and defending kills from rivals. Their problem-solving abilities and coordinated behaviors, including strategic positioning and communication, enhance their hunting efficiency.