Species group · Mammals
Hyaenas
WAnimals has 3 species of hyaena, all in the family Hyaenidae.
- 3 species
- 1 family
- 76 countries
- 55 parks
- Weight
- 25 kg – 86 kg
- Length
- 95 cm – 1.7 m
- Lifespan
- 12 – 22 years
Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 3.
All 3 species of hyaenas on WAnimals
Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Conservation status
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
See the global conservation statusWhere they live
Recorded in 76 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Where to see them
Did you know…
Females outrank males socially in its matriarchal clans.
From Spotted Hyaena
It gives birth through a pseudopenis, an anatomical feature unique among mammals.
From Spotted Hyaena
Its milk has the highest protein content of any land carnivore.
From Spotted Hyaena
Unlike the spotted hyena it is largely solitary and a scavenger, and its bite is among the most powerful for its size of any land carnivore.
From Striped Hyaena
Its droppings are white: feeding on bones, it takes in so much calcium that it excretes them that colour, an unmistakable sign for trackers.
From Striped Hyaena
When it feels threatened it raises a mane running the length of its back that makes it look up to a third larger than it is.
From Striped Hyaena
Almost purely a scavenger; on the Skeleton Coast it feeds on seal pups.
From Brown Hyena
On the Namib coast it is known as the strandwolf: it walks the tideline looking for the carcasses of seals and stranded fish, a dependable food source in one of the driest deserts in the world.
From Brown Hyena