HYENAS

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Context

Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour (MPI-AB) studied hyena societies for more than 30 years.
The study was published in a special issue on inequality in human and animal societies in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, B.
It was observed that in hyena monarchies power to control is derived from their mothers and goes for a downward slope with the passage of time.

Other Details

Hereditary power is considered as a stepping stone to absolute control, and in animals this absolute control is generally exercised though diplomacy or cruelty.
It decides the level of respect, access to food, time to nurture babies and overall quality of life
In hyena monarchies it is known as maternal inheritance where Hyena clans are arranged in a linear dominance hierarchy.
Queen is the highest-ranked female followed by her young, and then comes all other females with their young.
Individuals’ social position fades, except queen, over time in hyenas.
They can move up in the ladder however instances of sliding down are more often.

Cause of downward trajectory

Main reason is demographic turnover where another hyena joins or leaves the existing group.
Joining and leaving happen mainly by way of birth and death.
It is to be noted that higher-ranking females also give birth to more offspring and they are added to the top of the hierarchy initially.
This phenomenon pushes all other individuals down over time.

Hyena

These are the least diverse of the living carnivore The four living species of hyneas are
- Spotted hyena
- Brown hyena
- Aardwolf and
- Striped hyena
They belong to the Hyaenidae family of Hyaena genus.
They are hunters and catch their prey using their teeth instead of claws.

Features

Distribution

Main habitats of Hyenas are dry grasslands with few trees.
They are found in whole of the African continent with more concentration in southern part of the continent.
They also have their presence in Asia eastwards through Arabia to India.

Threat

Some cultures associate these animals with witchcraft hence body parts are used.
Also in some traditional medicinal systems they are killed to obtain required body parts.
They attack people and even carry off young children hence they are trapped and killed by hunting or poisoning.
In some communities they are also killed for food.
They are also killed during predator control operations.
Decreasing natural and domestic sources of carrion affects the survival of this species.
Destruction of habitat due to incidents like forest fires and due to other anthropogenic activities.

Significance to Planet

These are a part of the mechanism whereby prey populations are kept in balance with their resources.
Hyenas are useful species as they clean up the environment by eating carrion. Thus help in reducing the disease burden.
Through digestion, they deposit concentrations of calcium back to environment.
They can also serve as important subject for scientific research.
They are an attraction for tourists

IUCN Status

PRACTICE QUESTION

Consider the following statements about Hyenas:

1. They are significant species to maintain the balance of ecosystem and are categorized as endangered species in the IUCN red list.

2. A study on the Hyenas’ societies observes that upward mobility is impossible in Hyenas.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A. 1 only

B. 2 only

C. Both 1 and 2

D. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (D)