Curious spotted hyena jumps on car - Ngorongoro Crater Hyena Project 2016-12-10 | hyena-project.com/methods ► Studying the hyenas in the Ngorongoro Crater for more than 20 years gave us the privilege to know all individuals of the entire population and follow their life and fate from birth to death. Since we spend a lot of time observing hyenas, they have become very well habituated to us and our car. Learn how we habituate and identify spotted hyenas: hyena-project.com/methods
How to make hyena friends. Part 2: Team up against lions Hyena Project 2021-02-19 | Volume up to hear their irresistible recruitment *whoops* ► Check out our website to discover our research findings on the competition between spotted hyenas and lions in the Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania) ► hyena-project.com/research-topics/conflict-with-lions
How to make hyena friends. Part 1: Social Sniffing Hyena Project 2021-01-18 | Having many friends helps spotted hyenas to build coalitions and establish their social rank. Check out our Hyena Blog to learn how this works: hyena-project.com/2018/11/22/friends-over-muscles-how-female-hyenas-came-to-dominate-males
Scapegoating in spotted hyenas Hyena Project 2020-12-21 | ►Check out our latest Crater Story Blogpost to learn how scapegoating affects Stress & Sex in hyenas! hyena-project.com/2020/12/21/stress-and-reproduction
Social support explains female dominance in the spotted hyena – Video Abstract Hyena Project 2018-11-19 | What makes one individual or sex dominant over another? Scientists found that dominance relationships in spotted hyenas are determined by the amount of social support hyena can rely on. Females dominate males because most males are immigrants which lost social support when they left their natal group.Check out our paper at rdcu.be/bbB0Q or nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0718-9. Read more about the Ngorongoro Hyena Project here: hyena-project.com
Numbers game: 30 hyenas vs. 3 lions Hyena Project 2018-11-13 | https://Hyena-Project.com ► 30 hyenas of the Forest clan taking on a coalition of 3 young male lions. Male lions often steal kills from hyenas. While hyenas stay clear of large-maned males, they will challenge young males and lionesses if they outnumber them by a factor of 6. Challenging lions takes great determination and teamwork. Here, the hyenas try to intimidate one of the lions by whooping, groaning and circling around it. Lions are the hyenas’ primary competitor in the Ngorongoro Crater and competition is fierce. Despite this, thanks to the high density of prey and protection of local authorities, both species are thriving.Learn more about the conflict between spotted hyenas and lions here: hyena-project.com/research-topics/conflict-with-lions
Spotted hyena research project in Ngorongoro Crater - Short introduction Hyena Project 2017-06-03 | hyena-project.com ► Enjoy this short introduction into our project and the research we do. You can make donations to support our project at hyena-project.com/donationsHere are links to some of our key scientific papers:nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0718-9advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/3/e1501236nature.com/articles/nature06040nature.com/articles/ncomms1059
Funny hyena cubs playing in the morning sun (Ngorongoro Crater) Hyena Project 2017-04-07 | hyena-project.com ► When well fed, spotted hyena cubs are very playful. They love to pull and chew on each others ears! In contrast to lions and other cats, they rarely use their paws during play. The cubs in this video are between 1.5 and 2.5 months old (SPOTTY CUTIES for our Twitter followers @HyenaProject).
Hyena male too full to mate Hyena Project 2017-02-11 | hyena-project.com ►To eat or to mate that's the question. Mating is a tricky business for spotted hyena males, particularly if one has eaten too much. CHECK OUT FUNNY STORY BEHIND THE SCENES ON OUR BLOG at http://hyena-project.com/2017/02/11/to-eat-or-to-mate-thats-the-questionMusic: "The Show Must Be Go" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Frustrated hyena male does the fox jump and bites female Hyena Project 2016-12-03 | hyena-project.com ► Milou usually is a sweet guy but if females do not pay enough attention to him, he may be tempted to use unscrupulous schemes to draw their attention. Here, the female puts Milou back in his place but Milou then uses his high social rank to go for poor male Safiri who did not ask for anything. Check out our website for more stories about Ngorongoro spotted hyenas: http://hyena-project.com
Why hyenas have short hind legs and a long neck Hyena Project 2016-11-30 | hyena-project.com/hyenas ► Spotted hyenas are endurance hunters and can run or 'lope' over great distances in search for prey. Their relatively short hind legs and long neck are perfect adaptations to the loping locomotion because they minimize its energetic costs. Their long, muscular neck further enables them to carry heavy prey away from other hyenas and lions, or to bring food to their cubs at the communal den.At the beginning of the video, you can also see a very nice dominance interaction; the female arriving from the right side has her tail up and claims the kill by standing over it. She additionally extrudes her anal gland while greeting the other hyena (also a female) who in turn shows clear signs of submission by having her tail and bum shortly down and bopping her head.Check out our website for more information about the peculiarities of spotted hyenas: http://hyena-project.com/hyenas
Short zebra tail – SO FUNNY!! Hyena Project 2016-11-29 | hyena-project.com ► Life can be tough for prey animals. This zebra probably lost a big chunk of its tail when escaping from the jaws of a predator.
Funny hyena male searching for his female - Ngorongoro Crater Hyena Project 2016-06-16 | hyena-project.com ► Spotted hyena males can be very persistent when they have a crush on a female, and may follow her everywhere over weeks. This poor male ('Okobe') is running in all direction because he fell asleep and lost track of his beloved female. CHECK OUT THE FUNNY STORY BEHIND THE SCENES ON OUR BLOG:http://hyena-project.com/2016/06/17/its-tough-to-be-a-male-in-love
Funny zebra scratching its belly - Ngorongoro Crater Hyena Project 2016-06-16 | hyena-project.com ► When driving around inside the Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania), one may come across peculiar rocks with neat bare rings at their feet - as if tiny meteorites hit the Crater - and wonder about their origin. This video explains their peculiarity: the rocks serve as perfect belly-scratchers for zebras and other ungulates - which trample down the earth surrounding the rocks. It is actually quite frequent to see zebras queuing for a few seconds in heaven.Check out our website for more stories about the wildlife in the Ngorongoro Crater: http://hyena-project.com
Cute and Curious - Spotted hyena cubs in the Ngorongoro Crater Hyena Project 2016-05-21 | hyena-project.com ► Spotted hyena cubs are generally very cautious - but they are also very curious as you can see on our video. After gaining a bit of confidence, they inspect everything in great detail... and from as close as possible... and with a goooood sniff...Here, the two granddaughters of Raha, the queen of the Lemala Clan, check out our research vehicle and the camera. Learn more about the life and behaviour of spotted hyenas on our website: http://hyena-project.com
Spotted hyena courtship behaviour: male shadows female Hyena Project 2016-02-07 | hyena-project.com ► Female spotted hyenas are picky when it comes to choosing a mate - they like the males they know well. To foster a relationship with a female, males may follow or 'shadow' the female in her every movement, for up to several weeks. Here is 'Lampone', a high-ranking male of the Shamba Clan in the Ngorongoro Crater, keeping a close eye on his favourite female 'Gorda' the alpha-female of the clan. CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO ON THIS UNIQUE HYENA COUPLE: http://hyena-project.com/the-clans/shamba-comeback-kids
Imposing Kiwanda - a female spotted hyena unlike any other Hyena Project 2015-12-22 | hyena-project.com ► Female spotted hyenas socially dominate the males that join their clan. As a result, males usually are cautious when them approach a female. With her massive head and body, Kiwanda is a very impressive female spotted hyena. Males often seem intimidated by her imposing stature. But males may gain a lot from overcoming their fear and developing a relationship with Kiwanda because she is the only reported hyena to have repeatedly succeeded in raising triplets to adulthood which makes Kiwanda a premier choice of mating partner.Check out the Hyena Project - Ngorongoro Crater website for more info on Kiwanda and the challenges to raise triplets at: http://hyena-project.com/the-clans/ngoitokitok-the-chubbies
Hyena greeting ceremony Hyena Project 2015-10-27 | hyena-project.com ► Spotted hyenas have clear ideas about the do’s and don’t’s when it comes to greeting each other. They live in a complex society with strict social conventions based on the dominance relationship between individuals. When two individuals meet, they exhibit a “greeting” ceremony. They express signs of dominance or submission to confirm their hierarchical relationship or strengthen their friendship.This video shows such a greeting ceremony. The hyena on the left shows particularly clear signs of submission (head down, ears flat, teeth bared, tail in, bum low) because it is an intruder from a neighbouring clan, whereas the other is a resident individual and shows clear signs of dominance and assertiveness.Visit the Hyena Project – Ngorongoro Crater website for more details on the dominance hierarchy in spotted hyenas at: http://hyena-project.com/hyenas
Cute hyena cub with mom at birth den Hyena Project 2015-10-26 | hyena-project.com ► Female spotted hyenas are dedicated, cautious mothers. They usually keep their newborn cubs in a birth den away from the busy communal den. On this video, the one-month old cub of S-152, a high-ranking female from the Shamba Clan in the Ngorongoro Crater, is already quite steady on its paws and peeps out from the birth den to interact with its mother.Check out the Hyena Project - Ngorongoro Crater website for more details on the peculiarities of spotted hyena cubs at: http://hyena-project.com/hyenas
Male lion stealing food from hyenas Hyena Project 2015-10-26 | hyena-project.com ► In contrast to popular believe, spotted hyenas rarely take over kills from lions. In fact, the opposite is more frequent and hyenas regularly lose their food to lions, particularly when they compete with an adult male lion. On this video, it is quite impressive to see how a group of twenty-five hyenas abandon the kill without any hesitation when they see the lion approaching.Check out the Hyena Project - Ngorongoro Crater website to learn more about the conflicts between spotted hyenas and lions at: http://hyena-project.com/research-topics/conflict-with-lions
Hyenas and lioness share food Hyena Project 2015-10-20 | hyena-project.com ► Spotted hyenas often lose their kill against adult male lions, but with lionesses, interactions can be quite different. In the Ngorongoro Crater, it is quite common to see a group of hyenas defending their kill against lionesses or 'sharing' a large kill with a lioness, like on this video. Here, the hyenas were the first ones to arrive; they did not kill the red hartebeest (or 'Kongoni') but found it already dead. You can nicely hear one of the hyenas (Chozi, a young, high-ranking female from the Shamba Clan) ‘whooping’ to call other hyenas from her clan for support against the lioness.Check out the Hyena Project - Ngorongoro Crater website to learn more about the conflicts between spotted hyenas and lions at: http://hyena-project.com/research-topics/conflict-with-lions
