Hyenas are noteworthy for sneaking into tents and huts and taking a test bite out of whomever is sleeping inside.

On the other hand, animal and environmental advocate Joan Embery fostered an orphan hyena pup for awhile. She reported that the pup was hell on slippers and shoes.

Benevolent Misanthrope: I've always heard they are nasty bastards, perhaps even worse than wolves. At least wolves keep to themselves for the most part.

You have to remember how dynamic the ecology of Africa is. On other continents, the wildlife just kind of meanders along. In Africa, it's like one never-ending ECW hardcore battle royal. Nothing that comes from that environment will ever fight fair.

Wolves are a pretty tame bunch compared to packs of wild dogs and coyotes. They're not pushovers, but if you don't mess with them, they won't mess with you (forget about that Liam Neeson movie that just came out). Hybrids though are another can of worms.

Follow up: Animal trainer has face eaten off by hyena.

I love the way the article says that this disproves the hyena's bad reputation. Yay! Lets all go to the zoo and hug hyena's!!

/Photo is kinda cute though

They make great pets!

I love you, Food.

that's some surprisingly healthy teeth there in that 3rd pic, friendlinx

vossiewulf: [i922.photobucket.com image 527x670]

fruity fact of the day: hyenas are more closely related to cats than dogs

Eps05: that's some surprisingly healthy teeth there

Bone crunching molars ain't no joke

Obtuse_Otter: vossiewulf: [i922.photobucket.com image 527x670]

fruity fact of the day: hyenas are more closely related to cats than dogs

Fruitier fact of the day: hyenas' closest relations are mongooses and civets.

Benevolent Misanthrope: Coelacanth:I've always heard they are nasty bastards, perhaps even worse than wolves. At least wolves keep to themselves for the most part.

Africa is where humans evolved and lived. All of the animals there are quite familiar with us and treat us as any other creature, including making us dinner if we were weak or careless, and we did the same to them.

Heyenas are also matriarchial. The females are larger than the males and their clitorises have lengthened and resemble penii. They also give birth through their clitoris, which i would imagine is unpleasant. Interesting creatures.

Moonk: ...clitorises have lengthened and resemble penii

there you go bringing mom into it again

He lol'd.

The way he's got his tail wrapped around his junk, a sign of distress and fear, I'd say he's not to much enjoying the hug as he is praying it ends soon so he can run the fark away.

I once saw this things about how Hyenas and Lions being real enemies in the wild. They showcased how lions vs hyenas made a kill. The lions at least choked their prey to death before they started eating it. The hyenas just started ripping open their poor preys belly while is was still alive. The sound of all that pain. Most horrifying thing I ever saw in a nature show.

If I were this guy in the photo, I would not be putting my face so close. One second of being pissed off, that Hyena could take half that face off down to the bone.

Hyenas grin almost all the time. The facial contortion has nothing to do with whether it's "happy" or not ... They're vicious sods who will do you serious damage.

Stories like these are one of the primary reasons we locals get to see tourists wandering around outside of their vehicles in the Kruger Park looking to feed the wildlife.

Ah, so that's where gnolls come from.

Hyenas always look happy. That's because they're the psychopaths of the canine world.

A hyena would be a hell of an impression-maker if one walked it down the street on a chain.

e.g., Don't fark with me or my "dog" will eat you.

He's only able to hug it because it's still a cub. Once they reach adulthood, even if they've been raised by humans, they want nothing to do with you and would have no qualms about ripping your face off.

Wayne 985: Or if they're hungry and resources are scarce. It doesn't happen often, but there ARE documented cases of them killing small groups of men.

I'd still be a lot more concerned about bears or moose.

Hyenas scare the shiat out of me. They are ready to feed on you at any time.

They are the garbage disposals of Africa, where many communities simply toss their waste into the bushes on the outskirts of town. At night the Hyenas gather to feed on it all, and after associating human scent with food they're more inclined to take advantage of an opportunity (such as a child sitting in a doorway). Brutal farks! Don't kiss 'em!

Wayne 985: Or if they're hungry and resources are scarce. It doesn't happen often, but there ARE documented cases of them killing small groups of men.

Wolves in Europe and Russian were/are hybrids. Of the people killed here in the United States in the last ten years, both were firm maybes. On the other hand, coyotes attacks have gone off the charts Link (new window)

Probably way too late for anyone to see, but...

Coelacanth

Wolves in Eurasia basically have no domestic dog DNA in them, according to genetic tests on several populations across both continents. On the other hand, the reason why quite a few North American wolves have entirely black fur is due to the introduction of a melanism gene that has been shown to have first appeared in early domestic dogs. It probably came from the dogs brought here by some of the first people to arrive on this continent. (I actually didn't believe this when I first read it a while back, but I checked out Wiki's sources, and yep...)

So, yeah, the majority of wolves in Europe and Russia are very likely NOT hybrids, and so that has nothing to do with their behavior toward humans. The reason Eurasian wolves have been more often reported attacking humans is because Europeans and Asians have a longer written history with them. Wolves may or may not have attacked people just as often in North America, it just wasn't written down until the various colonists got here. Unprovoked attacks by healthy wolves in modern times, in both hemispheres, -are- rare, but some North American wolves (especially in Alaska) are becoming habituated to people, which means bad things could start happening just like they have with coyotes and mountain lions.

Hyenas, though...they are not canids, they are very smart, and they are very opportunistic. If they see a chance to kill and eat something, a human included, hey - they'll go for it. The one in the article is cute, though, who could resist getting kisses...?

mwenye_kichaa: Probably way too late for anyone to see, but...

Coelacanth

Wolves in Eurasia basically have no domestic dog DNA in them, according to genetic tests on several populations across both continents. On the other hand, the reason why quite a few North American wolves have entirely black fur is due to the introduction of a melanism gene that has been shown to have first appeared in early domestic dogs. It probably came from the dogs brought here by some of the first people to arrive on this continent. (I actually didn't believe this when I first read it a while back, but I checked out Wiki's sources, and yep...)

So, yeah, the majority of wolves in Europe and Russia are very likely NOT hybrids, and so that has nothing to do with their behavior toward humans. The reason Eurasian wolves have been more often reported attacking humans is because Europeans and Asians have a longer written history with them. Wolves may or may not have attacked people just as often in North America, it just wasn't written down until the various colonists got here. Unprovoked attacks by healthy wolves in modern times, in both hemispheres, -are- rare, but some North American wolves (especially in Alaska) are becoming habituated to people, which means bad things could start happening just like they have with coyotes and mountain lions.

Hyenas, though...they are not canids, they are very smart, and they are very opportunistic. If they see a chance to kill and eat something, a human included, hey - they'll go for it. The one in the article is cute, though, who could resist getting kisses...?

I saw this and I appreciate the input. Back in the day, it was assumed that the majority of Eurasian wolves were hybrids mostly because of their ferocity, which was backed up by credible accounts by people who breed/had interacted with wolf/dog hybrids.

Coelacanth

Yeah, I was surprised to find out that dog genes are rare to nonexistent in Eurasian wolves. I'd have thought the opposite just because they've been exposed to many kinds of domestic dogs for literally thousands of years. But then, Europeans and Asians apparently didn't deliberately breed their dogs back to wolves every so often, like some Native American tribes did, and wolves generally won't breed with dogs when left to their own devices. They're more likely to simply rip the dog apart, same as they normally do to coyotes.

Their apparent ferocity really just seems to be the result of a very long association with humans - like hyenas, Eurasian wolves probably know that unarmed humans are no threat and might even be a good target. Plus, wolves in Europe especially had lots of opportunity to think of humans as food thanks to all the massive bloody wars that left plenty of bodies to scavenge from...

mwenye_kichaa: Coelacanth

Yeah, I was surprised to find out that dog genes are rare to nonexistent in Eurasian wolves. I'd have thought the opposite just because they've been exposed to many kinds of domestic dogs for literally thousands of years. But then, Europeans and Asians apparently didn't deliberately breed their dogs back to wolves every so often, like some Native American tribes did, and wolves generally won't breed with dogs when left to their own devices. They're more likely to simply rip the dog apart, same as they normally do to coyotes.

I've got books from the 19th and early 20th centuries that blame man-eating wolves on hybrids that were written by guys who had been out in the field. After reading Mowat Farley's book, I thought I was pretty much done. But I guess it's back to school.

Their apparent ferocity really just seems to be the result of a very long association with humans - like hyenas, Eurasian wolves probably know that unarmed humans are no threat and might even be a good target. Plus, wolves in Europe especially had lots of opportunity to think of humans as food thanks to all the massive bloody wars that left plenty of bodies to scavenge from...

I had an idea about that the other night. Considering how many times European wolves were almost wiped out, only to come back from handful of survivors suggest that population bottlenecks might've sped up their cognitive abilities. But overall, canids are not dumb. Moscow dogs and American coyotes being two fine examples.

Coelacanth

That's an idea...Studies do show that European and northern subspecies of Asian wolves have larger brains, on average, than North American wolves. South Asian wolves have the smallest brains and weaker carnassials, and scientists think most domestic dogs are descended from the southern wolves. It's possible North American wolves' brains are a bit smaller thanks to that ancient mixing with dogs, but that did happen a -very- long time ago and may not have that much to do with it...

Canids overall are very intelligent, yep. I think amongst the carnivores, only spotted hyenas and possibly some mongooses have similarly complicated social and group hunting behaviors. And even the ones that don't live in large packs, like coyotes and foxes, are justly venerated in myth and literature as being very clever and tricksy beasts. (g)

mwenye_kichaa: Coelacanth

That's an idea...Studies do show that European and northern subspecies of Asian wolves have larger brains, on average, than North American wolves. South Asian wolves have the smallest brains and weaker carnassials, and scientists think most domestic dogs are descended from the southern wolves. It's possible North American wolves' brains are a bit smaller thanks to that ancient mixing with dogs, but that did happen a -very- long time ago and may not have that much to do with it...

Canids overall are very intelligent, yep. I think amongst the carnivores, only spotted hyenas and possibly some mongooses have similarly complicated social and group hunting behaviors. And even the ones that don't live in large packs, like coyotes and foxes, are justly venerated in myth and literature as being very clever and tricksy beasts. (g)

And this is how you get favorited!