What is a Hyena?

@DentalFloss- I read once that lions and hyenas actually compete a lot in the wild- not just for food, as the article suggests, but for territory, and hyenas might even attack lions outright. There are some really interesting documentaries on this.

It makes The Lion King look even more romanticized, but it does sort of explain why, in that movie, the hyenas hated Mufasa so much.

@Agni3- I love The Lion King too, though I haven't seen it onstage. I too remembered the hyenas even then, when it came out. They were creepy to me when I was a child, but when I see it or hear it now, I think they're really great characters, and very funny.

What I wonder though is whether or not hyenas would be able to avoid lions that way, or if the lions would just eat them.

@Domido - Telling someone that they are laughing like a hyena is quite the insult and though it is a pretty common phrase, I think it is a bit cliché now. Basically it means that your laughter is grating and sounds either maniacal or crazy.

I once had a coworker and a lot of people in the office felt that she laughed like a hyena. She was always off cackling to herself after she had been talking on the phone and we used to get a big kick out of hearing her laugh. If you ever have a chance to listen to a hyena laughing you will soon realize how insane they sound.

Hyenas always seem like a bit of a fallback animal in cartoons when they need an evil character. They way the laugh, move and interact with other animals really makes them seem like a good fit for the animal kingdoms nastiest animal title.

I visited a zoo once and watched the hyenas for a while and found it a bit disturbing how they seemed to slink around. I can honestly see how they are related to cats when you start looking at the way they move. Hyenas seem to be an odd mix of feline grace and the more canine appearance.

@Domido - Have you ever listened to a recording of hyena laughter? You can find various ones online, and they are very creepy.

While one that I listened to sounded more like the grieving laughter that accompanies sobs, another sounded just like a mad scientist. It could also be compared to a drunken lady laughing at herself for putting up with a cheating husband for years. These are strange comparisons, I know, but nothing is stranger than hyena laughter.

Mixed in with the laughing is moaning. Some clan members moan in the background while others sound out with a crazy“ha-ha-ha.” I can see how it would be very distracting and confusing to prey.

It’s amazing what all I learn from my teenager’s textbooks. I have always been afraid of and fascinated by hyenas, and just recently, I was reading about brown hyenas and their behavior. I’m sure I enjoy her textbooks more than she does.

I read that brown hyenas do not laugh like spotted hyenas do. They make a lot of noise at dusk, but this noise comes in the form of growling, yowling, whining, and snarling while arguing over food.

Other than animal carcasses, brown hyenas also eat insects like locusts, termites, and beetles, as well as fruit and ostrich eggs. When they are unable to find large carcasses, they will kill and eat small animals like lizards, poultry, and rodents.

I know that since I live in the United States, I don’t have a rational reason to fear a hyena attack. I am still fascinated at a distance with their eerie, ugly appearance and strange noises, though.

Though I hate to watch predators take down prey, I do like to watch Discovery Channel programs about animals up until they reach feeding time. Just last week, I watched as much as I could bear about hyenas.

Though they scavenge a lot, they are also very skilled and intelligent when hunting. Often, they get one hyena to distract a herd of animals while the other hyenas choose a weak or old herd member to catch and run the others off. I listened to this part, but I switched it off when they were about to take down the weakling.

What struck me as amazing was that hyenas live together in such large numbers. A clan can have as many as 80 hyenas in it.

My family hosted an African exchange student while I was in high school. She had a terrible true story involving a hyena.

She and her little sister had been outside playing when they heard what she described as witch laughter. She said she still remembers the chill that ran up her spine at the sound of it.

Mesmerized or paralyzed, they stood listening for a moment. Suddenly, the hyena jumped from the tall grass and grabbed the girl’s three-year-old sister. It dashed off into the wilderness so fast that by the time the girl told her parents, they were unable to find it. They never saw her again.

I have always wondered why people sometimes make the comparison, “She was yeehawing like a laughing hyena,” or some similar something. What in the world does that mean?

I find it hard to believe that hyenas actually ever laugh and would think that they are in reality probably very aggressive.

At least, they look aggressive on the Discovery Channel.

Really, there doesn’t seem to be a single, solitary humorous thing about them. So what is with that crazy saying?

I have, of course, seen the Disney movie “Lion King” about a million times, and I’ve also seen the Broadway performance. I’ve got to say, that in both artistic venues my favorite characters of all are the hyenas! And of them, I think that Ed the hyena is the most awesome!

This cartoon came out when my sisters and I were girls, and we were hooked on it. We still have little sayings that we quote at each other from it, but the most memorable is when one of us does something completely stupid. The rest of us will refer to that moment of stupid as an ‘Ed’ moment.

We never would have had an ‘Ed’ moment without that incredibly dumb hyena!