The Most Misunderstood

The wonder that is the Serengeti is something not easily described with words, or even through pictures. When I returned home and attempted to convey my experiences, the closest I came to explaining it was that it feels as if the beginning and the end of the world is there. Every colour, sound, and texture in existence seems to coalesce in that great expanse of land.

As is to be expected when venturing out in the Serengeti, there are many different groups on tours, all hoping to catch a glimpse of something special. My group was one of many – far too many to count – and by this point we had spent close to a week with our trusted and skilled tour guide roaming through the savannah, witnessing one majestic scene after another.

On this particular day, we had been driving for hours and we were alerted to the presence of the next star attraction not by sight, but by sound. In the distance, there was a faint cackling sound – the same sound we had heard a few nights prior while camping under the stars. We followed the sound with our Jeep until we saw a clan of spotted hyenas emerging from the grasslands.

Having grown up with a healthy dose of Disney films as a child, including repeated views of The Lion King, I would venture that I’m not alone in saying that the hyena has always had something of a bad reputation attached to it, a stigma based on a fallacy that they are somehow the villains of the animal kingdom. I was pleased to learn that this couldn’t be further from the truth.

As we approached the clan, I was immediately taken aback by how dog-like they appeared, both in looks and mannerisms. To be sure, they do have distinct differences: a giraffe-like neck, bat-like ears, a hunched back. It was fascinating to learn that the spotted hyena is part of the mongoose family and is actually more closely related to cats than dogs. Thinking of my own cat and his predatory behaviour, it was easy to make the connection.

Over time, several misconceptions have been widely circulated, including that hyenas are unintelligent brutes, skulking around the grasslands waiting to nibble on the leftovers of another predator’s kill, like a common scavenger. We learned that in actual fact, hyenas are skilled hunters, successfully killing over 90 percent of the food that they eat, and that lions actually take more scraps from the kills of spotted hyenas than the other way around. Far from being cowardly, foolish creatures, they have actually proven themselves to be exceedingly clever, using both logic and strategy to their advantage.

We were told that hyenas typically congregate in large social groups, sometimes comprised of up to 100 individuals, and that the groups are led by an alpha-female. Although they often split into smaller groups, as we witnessed that day, they ultimately operate as a clan and will unite to hunt or feed.

From our car, we observed two hyenas drinking from a shallow pool of water while being seemingly indifferent to our presence and the sounds of cameras clicking. After a few minutes, one of the hyenas appeared to be more curious than the other, and approached the back of our Jeep. He was close enough for me to hear him sniffing, at which point our driver indicated that it was time to leave.

Before our departure I was able to catch a few close-up images, which I enjoyed most especially for the vastly different light that they were cast in. Looking directly into the eyes of the hyena, his awkward gait, oddly large ears, and elongated neck suddenly seemed like extraneous details that often serve to perpetuate the myth of the foolish and faint-hearted scavenger. Instead, I could see him for what he was: a highly intelligent, cooperative, complex individual.