HYENAS

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Context

• Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour (MPI-AB) studied hyena societies for more than 30 years.
• The study was published in a special issue on inequality in human and animal societies in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, B.
• It was observed that in hyena monarchies power to control is derived from their mothers and goes for a downward slope with the passage of time.

Other Details

• Hereditary power is considered as a stepping stone to absolute control, and in animals this absolute control is generally exercised though diplomacy or cruelty.
• It decides the level of respect, access to food, time to nurture babies and overall quality of life
• In hyena monarchies it is known as maternal inheritance where Hyena clans are arranged in a linear dominance hierarchy.
• Queen is the highest-ranked female followed by her young, and then comes all other females with their young.
• Individuals’ social position fades, except queen, over time in hyenas.
• They can move up in the ladder however instances of sliding down are more often.

Cause of downward trajectory

• Main reason is demographic turnover where another hyena joins or leaves the existing group.
• Joining and leaving happen mainly by way of birth and death.
• It is to be noted that higher-ranking females also give birth to more offspring and they are added to the top of the hierarchy initially.
• This phenomenon pushes all other individuals down over time.

Hyena

• These are the least diverse of the living carnivore The four living species of hyneas are
  • Spotted hyena
  • Brown hyena
  • Aardwolf and
  • Striped hyena
• They belong to the Hyaenidae family of Hyaena genus.
• They are hunters and catch their prey using their teeth instead of claws.

Features

• They have short torsos and wolf-like massive build.
• Forelegs are high in comparison to the hind legs.
• They generally appear gray, brown, or yellowish.
• They have short and thick neck.
• Short and blunt claws force them to use teeth for hunting.
• Spotted hyena is very capable of producing sound.
• They live both ways that is alone or in packs.

Distribution

• Main habitats of Hyenas are dry grasslands with few trees.
• They are found in whole of the African continent with more concentration in southern part of the continent.
• They also have their presence in Asia eastwards through Arabia to India.

Threat

• Some cultures associate these animals with witchcraft hence body parts are used.
• Also in some traditional medicinal systems they are killed to obtain required body parts.
• They attack people and even carry off young children hence they are trapped and killed by hunting or poisoning.
• In some communities they are also killed for food.
• They are also killed during predator control operations.
• Decreasing natural and domestic sources of carrion affects the survival of this species.
• Destruction of habitat due to incidents like forest fires and due to other anthropogenic activities.

Significance to Planet

• These are a part of the mechanism whereby prey populations are kept in balance with their resources.
• Hyenas are useful species as they clean up the environment by eating carrion. Thus help in reducing the disease burden.
• Through digestion, they deposit concentrations of calcium back to environment.
• They can also serve as important subject for scientific research.
• They are an attraction for tourists

IUCN Status

• Status of the Striped hyenas - Near Threatened
• Status of Spotted hyena- Least Concern
• Status of Brown hyena – Near Threatened
• Status of Aardwolf – Least Concern

https://theprint.in/science/hyenas-inherit-power-from-moms-but-its-a-privilege-they-pay-dearly-for-study/1643532/