DISLIKED HERO

Spotted Hyenas are amongst the least favorite animals of many people visiting Africa. They still have a terrible reputation of being horrible thieves.

Since we are in Africa, we are trying to explain people that hyenas are actually one of the least understood creatures on this planet, and that they are immensely important for the African ecosystem. Hyenas are part of the clean-up team in the wild. Although they also hunt themselves, they feed a lot on carcasses, either killed by other predators or died naturally. They are able to digest even bones, so when lions and other predators usually only eat the fleshy parts of a kill, hyenas will finish what’s left. This means not only that they clean up in the bush, but also help to keep diseases from spreading. We hope with this photograph of a just a few weeks old hyena we can continue, to change the perception, people have about hyenas.