WolfQuest

SilkenGalaxy wrote:Also, I've read that on rare occasion Striped Hyenas have lived with wolves and hunted with them!

Do you have a source for this? I would be interested to read it, although it sounds more like one tries to scavange from the other, rather than actual cooperative hunting.

Persoanlly, I love hyenas, especially the spotted, but sometimes I find myself questioning my love for them. It's really easy to see their bad side, what with all the hate and misconceptions out there. It never lasts long though. Hyenas really are amazing and interesting animals that deserve more love, or at the very least respect. I mean, not many other predators are brave enough to face a pride of lions head on

SilkenGalaxy wrote:Also, I've read that on rare occasion Striped Hyenas have lived with wolves and hunted with them!

Yeah, source it up ! While I agree with Arcturus at face value in thinking that it is maybe a scavenging-based relationship, I am open to the idea if there's evidence.

I don't like hyenas very much.. Through no fault of their own, it seems that they have a very cruel society, and they compete more than they cooperate, even within their families. Mothers will not care for any puppies other than her own, and males don't help raise the kids at all. They are born in twins and the stronger puppy will sometimes kill its sibling in the first few days after they are born. The hierarchy is strict and low ranking members get bullied and harassed. I have read that low ranking mothers will not even protect their own pups against a higher ranking hyena. Their societies are so aggressive, and females are the dominant sex only because they are more masculine than the males.

I know this will sound bad, but I think that the hyena's "villainous" portrayal in movies is justified, as far as the anthropomorphism of animal behaviour goes. I know that you cannot blame an animal for the way it behaves and I don't mean to offend anyone. Yes, they are interesting: they have complex social structures and are quite smart. But they are very unpleasant.

But that may only apply to the spotted hyena. I have read that striped hyenas can be quite friendly and tamable, and the brown hyena, in my opinion, has one of the most beautiful appearances of all animals.

http://www.animalspot.net/wp-content/up ... mages1.jpg

Polynesia wrote:I know this will sound bad, but I think that the hyena's "villainous" portrayal in movies is justified, as far as the anthropomorphism of animal behaviour goes.

And I think this statement is perfectly reasonable! Don't worry about it . What one person finds off-putting, another finds interesting, even comforting. Exaggerating animal behaviour and characteristics in the context of entertainment isn't done on accident anyway. Anthropomorphization is both a useful communication tool, and an inevitable way of understanding our world from our own species' perspective.