In a world of powerful lions, hyenas are overlooked and far from appreciated. Many view hyenas as pests, while the rest of us grew up hating them thanks to The Lion King. A Google search clearly confirms how unliked they are. In reality, spotted hyenas possess some iconic characteristics, with most remarkable their “pseudo-penis”.
Appearance and society
Found in sub-Saharan Africa, hyenas resemble a mix of a teddy bear and a big dog. Their back legs are shorter than the front, sloping down towards their tales. This gives them the weird, awkward, and often foolish look we find in pop-culture.
Let’s talk alpha-female energy. Spotted hyenas live in social groups called clans comprised of six to 120 individuals. There is a clear matriarchal structure with power transmitted from the big girl-boss to her daughters. Males come last in hierarchy, begging for some sex, food, and mercy. Males are also the last to eat, if there’s any food left.
Pseudo-penis
Females have an enormous elongated clitoris, a “pseudo-penis”, that is fully erectile. It reaches 20cm in length, resembling the male genitalia and making it very hard to tell them apart. If you ever need to, the female penis is more flat on top, while the male is more pointy. The female genitalia even has a tissue that looks exactly like a typical male sac.
Through their pseudo-penis, they urinate and give birth in a very very challenging and painful process. Imagine a kilo-sized ball making its way through this narrow pipe. We’re talking real suffering, and babies often die from suffocation during birth.
Scientists debate over the evolutionary origin of this feature. For sure it acts as an “anti-rape” mechanism, granting the females the authority to choose their mating partner. If she changes her mind post-mating, she simply flushes out the semen by urinating! Slay.
Human – Hyena relationships
Human livelihoods are reliable food sources for hyenas, so much so that they approach urban areas more and more. Predictions suggest a continued loss of ten to 25 per cent of their native habitat by 2050, bringing them a step closer to humans. This creates several issues for local communities, promoting negative perceptions about hyenas. People tend carry large rocks when walking around ‘hyena favelas’ at night.
Hyenas are better than this and now we know it for sure. Recent studies highlight the benefits hyenas offer to communities:
- They attract tourism, tourists want to observe and feed the wild animals.
- They contribute to waste management by consuming carcasses and organic domestic waste. Their contributes removes over 200 tones of waste every year!
- Their scavenging behaviour aids public health by removing disease associated with the organic waste.
- As a result, they boost the economy by preventing sickness of people and loss of livestock.
“Friends? I thought he said we were the enemy!”
Shenzi, The Lion King
Marks of hyenas in human life trace back to 2.5 million years ago. We’d characterise the dynamic between humans and hyenas as ‘frenemies’. Conservation management is actively working towards bridging this gap.
Let’s not allow the caricatures of The Lion King mislead us.
From their pseudo-penis to their feminist vibes, spotted hyenas are iconic creatures and here to smash the patriarchy! Let’s spread some love to these like-no-other creatures on Earth.
Learn more:
Podcast Tooth and claw: Spotted hyena
Crocuta crocuta – spotted hyena
Everything you need to know about hyenas – ideas.ted.com
Featured Image Credit: Pexels.com
Conservation Biologist who writes | Here to communicate science and more
Stirling, UK
