[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoNmQX09rX0]
Excerpts from National Geographic’s “Misjudged Hyenas“:
“Behind the snarl lies a cagey opportunist, proficient hunter, and dutiful parent.”
“Hyenas have an undeserved reputation as thieves and scavengers that subsist on the leavings of the larger predator. ‘But it is far more frequent that the lion will steal a kill from the hyenas,’ says Kay Holekamp of Michigan State University. Biologists have known this for decades, she laments, yet hyenas are still viewed as ‘slobbering, mangy, stupid poachers’ (not to mention goose-stepping fascists) in The Lion King, the movie that for many has defined the species.”
“Why do people grimace at the sight of them? With their patchy fur and odd proportions, maybe they flout our shallow standards for beauty in animals. ‘Our obsession with looks doesn’t take into account how well their bodies and brains are adapted to an ecosystem,’ says Anup Shah, who, with his brother, Manoj, photographed hyenas in Kenya, their homeland, and Tanzania.”
“Snarling in the face of certain death, a hyena cornered by lions in a Masai Mara bog has nowhere to run. Male lions seem to relish harassing and killing their smaller competitors.”
To read this wonderful article in full, click here.
