Spotted Hyena At The Watering Hole

Title

Spotted Hyena At The Watering Hole

Artist

Heidi Fickinger

Medium

Photograph - Photographic Print

Description

Hyenas are some of the most unique animals in the world. They look like a cross betwen a dog and a cat. Some are striped, some are black and some, like this South African Spotted Hyena are brown, with leopard-like spots and a mane like a lion. Their face is somewhat dog-like, but somehow different. There are only 4 species of Hyena on earth. They are known as feliform carnivoran mammals. They are genetically linked to viverrids, which include civets and other mammals resembling weasels. Modern hyenas can be found in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Indian sub-continent. There are fossil records of a species that lived in North America.
Hyenas are well known for their strange, high-pitched cries. Hyenas are both primary hunters and scavengers, often showing up in packs after a lion or leopard has killed and harrassing the ones that took down the prey until the original predator leaves. Perhaps because of their strange appearance and other-worldly cries, many cultures consider them to be bad omens. Hyenas are often viewed as worthy of contempt or superstition. In some cultures, hyenas are thought to influence people's spirits, rob graves, and steal livestock and children.
I find hyenas fascintating, a living link to the history of animals on earth, a link to the past that has survived millenia.

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September 15th, 2020

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