(Hyaenidae), a family of predatory mammals. In external appearance hyenas somewhat resemble dogs. Their trunks are short, higher at the front than at the back; their necks are thick and their heads are very large, with long, erect ears, up to 13 cm. They have large teeth and paws with four toes. The tail is short and bushy, and the body is covered with coarse, bristly fur that in some species forms a hanging mane, up to 20 cm long, along the backbone. Overall, hyenas have a gray or brown coloring with dark stripes or spots.
Hyenas are widespread in almost all of Africa and in Middle and Southwest Asia, as far east as the Bay of Bengal. In the USSR they are found in Transcaucasia and in Middle Asia. Usually they inhabit semidesert and desert regions, but, less often, they may be found in steppes with a covering of shrub thickets and in savannas or woods growing in river valleys in desert and semidesert regions. In Middle Asia they prefer uninhabited areas, but in Africa they attach themselves to settlements. They lead a nocturnal life and feed mainly on large carrion, gnawing bones inaccessible to other predators. Much less often hyenas attack wild ungulates and domestic livestock. Instances are known of their attacking humans (children). They are solitary, joining in groups only near carrion. Hyenas are in heat during the rainy season in tropical Africa and at the end of winter and beginning of spring in North Africa and Asia. The female bears between two and five offspring, lighter in color than adult hyenas and covered with short fur.
The hyena family consists of three genera, divided into four species. The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is the most widespread and may be found in almost all of Africa, in Southwest Asia as far east as the Bay of Bengal, and in the USSR in Transcaucasia and Middle Asia. They have bodies about 1 m in length and are gray with dark lateral stripes. The brown hyena (H. brunnea) may be found in southern Africa. It is dark brown and has lateral stripes on its legs. Its fur is coarse and long and hangs from its sides. The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) inhabits southern and eastern Africa. It is the largest of the hyena family (body 130 cm long and height at the shoulders about 80 cm) and has small dark spots on its sides. The earth wolf (Proteles cristatus) inhabits southern and eastern Africa. It is the smallest of the hyena family and lives on ants and termites. The hyena population is falling sharply because of the decreasing number of wild ungulates.
I. I. SOKOLOV