5/8/2023 0 Comments Full hyena mounty![]() ![]() In Namibia, a population of feral horses has been a source of conflict, with conservationists who regard them as rare pushing for protective measures such as the elimination of the region’s spotted hyenas, which prey on the equines. ![]() The predators’ place in people’s pecking order has produced some perplexing sagas. Yet the view that they are “cowardly scavengers” is widely entrenched. Superb predators, hyenas are also highly adaptable opportunists which, like most carnivores, will scavenge when the prospect arises. Hyena vocalisations are also associated, to human ears, with maniacal or evil laughter. This reviewer has raised the possibility elsewhere that the ubiquity of witchcraft belief in Africa – a conservative social force – could stem from the intensity of human/wildlife conflict in the region and the fact that an animal attack is the one natural event that can resemble an intentional act of malice. Animal attacks on humans in Africa – whether from the lion’s claws or the crocodile’s jaws – are often associated with witchcraft. It must be said that hyenas, as Somerville does note at times, are not the only animals that have been linked to witchcraft. The Gusii people of Kenya also associate hyenas with witches operating at night and tell their children they must not leave their huts at night as the witches and hyenas will catch and devour them.” The belief is that it is a witch that turns itself into a tokoloshe or that the tokoloshe is a familiar of the witch, which can ride on the back of a hyena. “An aspect of southern African supernatural/occult beliefs is the ape-like creature the tokoloshe or tokolotši, found in Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Tsonga and other belief systems. In North Africa, Somerville notes that the spotted hyena historically “… was persecuted where it was blamed by pastoral and farming communities for attacks on stock (especially goats, sheep and poultry), supposed threats posed to children and the aura of the occult surrounding it because of its digging up and consumption of human corpses from graveyards.” Over millennia this has created an image of hyenas that is common globally and taken up with gusto in films and the media, and even in wildlife documentaries.”Īssociations of hyenas with witchcraft and the occult are a common theme. This provides a starting point for the imagery of the hyena, but with inaccuracies, superstition and outright falsehoods woven into the narratives. In folktales and myths, there is a thread of genuine fear of an animal that killed stock, even killed and ate people, and which digs up graves and eats corpses. ![]() It does not store any personal data.“European accounts of hyenas, secondhand and garbled, follow many of the same patterns and incorporate the myths about hermaphroditism derived from the unusual external form of the female genital organs of spotted hyenas. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. In the last few years, researchers have discovered that hyena “clans” are organized in a strict hierarchy unique among predatory mammals, with males at the bottom and females leading the pack. In these clans throughout sub-Saharan Africa, females do the majority of the hunting, dictate the social structure, and raise cubs as single mothers. Unlike most other mammals, spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) live in matriarchal societies led by alpha females. This exposes both sexes to a high level of maleness during gestation. It’s thought that high levels of testosterone are transferred to male and female offspring through the placenta. These substances are associated with dominance and social status. … Why do hyenas have both sexes?įemale spotted hyenas have androgens (hormones) in their systems. To the right, two hyenas forming a coalition against the one on the left. Until now, this dominance had been explained by the fact that females are heavier and more aggressive than males. Among spotted hyenas, females dominate over males in a group. ![]()
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