Spotted Hyena Facts - Crocuta crocuta

Both the Male & Female of This Species of Hyena Have a Penis

Aug 25, 2009

The laughing hyena has had a rough deal when portrayed in animated movies as stupid and savage; however, there is more to this animal than meets the eye.

The spotted hyena is a heavily built dog-like mammal with a sloping back and a long thick neck. Its front legs are longer than its hind legs and they have the strongest jaws in the animal kingdom.

Spotted hyenas have a short coat of reddish sandy-brown color with dark spots and a mane that begins at the back of the head and runs down the entire length of the back, meeting the tail. Spots become less prominent and the coat becomes lighter in color with age. Distribution is over most of Africa in woodlands, savannahs, forest edges and open grasslands.

Overview and Behaviour of the Spotted Hyena

Contrary to popular belief, hyenas are not scavengers but are actually powerful hunting animals. Prey includes zebras, antelope, buffalo, wildebeest, gazelle and carrion and they will also scavenge. A lone spotted hyena can bring down prey up to three times its own weight. They cough up indigestible items such as hair, hooves, and parts of horns or bone in the form of small pellets.

Spotted hyenas live in female dominated groups called clans and are the largest of the hyenas with the females being larger than the males. Clans are made up of up to 70 members but they usually hunt alone.

Sexual maturity is around 3 years and when mating season occurs, more dominant males chase away smaller males for the opportunity to mate with a receptive female. Gestation is 99 – 110 days and the mother will likely produce around 2-3 cubs (although it can be anywhere from 1-4). Cubs are weaned after 18 months and the life span of a spotted hyena is 12 years in the wild and up to 25 years in captivity.

When a spotted hyena howls, it looks down towards the ground, rather than the moon like a wolf does. The Current Taxonomy of the Spotted Hyena:

Both Male and Female Spotted Hyenas Have a ‘Penis’

Spotted hyenas have a complex greeting ceremony involving physical gestures as well as scents and vocalizations including howls, calls and laughing. Both the males and the females have a ‘penis’ and hyenas will present their engorged penis to one another for inspection. They will sniff and nuzzle at each other and communicate messages this way.

The female spotted hyena’s ‘penis’ is in fact a pseudopenis (pseudo = false) but she is able to make it erect just as the male does. In mammals both the penis and clitoris develop from the same embryonic tissue and some scientists believe that the pseudopenis of the female spotted hyena is as a result of high levels of male sex hormone. Others feel that a genetic change occurred during hyena evolution and that the pseudopenis is now simply a part of the female's genetic make up.

There is a cost to having a pseudopenis for the female spotted hyena. The birth canal extends through the pseudopenis and approximately 10-20% of females die the first time they give birth because the pseudopenis/birth canal is too small for the pups to pass through easily. Up to 60% of first-born cubs can also die.

The benefit of the pseudopenis, aside from greeting ceremonies, for the female spotted hyena is that it makes them larger than the males and more aggressive allowing females to rule the clan. The dominant females and their offspring get first dibs on fresh kills and mates. Dominance increases reproductive success, which is good for the species.

Alcock, J, 2005, ‘The Evolution of Communication’ in Animal Behaviour, 8th edition, ed. Sinauer Associates Inc., Massachusetts, chapter 9.

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