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Brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea)

Classification:
Order: Carnivora
Family: Hyaenidae
Genus: Parahyaena

Other names
Afrikaans: Bruin Hiëna
French: Hyène brune
German: Schabrackenhyäne
Dutch: Bruine hyena
Portuguese: Hiena castanha

Brown hyena (Strandwolf) are medium sized with long legs and a sloping back. Their ears are long and pointed. Long coarse dark brown to black hair covers most of the body except the head and neck, which are grey, and the legs, which are covered with brown and grey bars.

Unlike the spotted hyena, the males and females of this species are practically indistinguishable. Their clans are also smaller, ranging between 4 to 15 members. Brown hyenas are commonly killed by people, lions, and spotted hyenas.

The brown hyena lives mainly in the Kalahari and Namib deserts of southern Africa. It is smaller than the Spotted Hyena, and unlike its spotted cousin, is largely a scavenger. It is the largest land animal to derive most of its diet from scavenging. Because of the scarcity of food in the desert, the brown hyena supplements its diet with fruit and vegetables.

Just a little background info on the brown hyena: mainly active at night, sometimes at dawn and dusk and they tend to avoid areas where spotted hyena are active.... so, this would make spotting them pretty difficult I reckon and a rare treat, oh and they are categorised as "rare" too!

resized by bert
Brown Hyena

It would be really difficult to distinguish between the spoor of a Brown and a Spotted Hyena in the bush. You need a real expert there. Main differences would be in the size of the spoor, as the Spotted is bigger. Liebenberg also mentions that in Hyena the back feet are smaller than the front feet, since more weight is carried on the front feet. Then he states that the difference in size between the back and front feet of the Brown is more pronounced than those of the Spotted!!

They are found rarely at Lower Sabie and Letaba / Mopani & Shingwedzi areas of KNP.

I hear that they are really hard to find. Has anybody seen one?

Yes, but not in Kruger.

I have seen them a couple of times in Rietvlei NR in Pretoria. They would also be more common in Kgalagadi etc. where there is a lower concentration of lion and spotted hyena. They can't compete against these stronger predators. They are also often found outside protected areas and even urban areas. They are real nomads.

We saw a brown hyaena at Kumana dam - a long, long time ago - in fact it is nearly 20 years ago. I believe that their status in KNP is classified as "uncertain".

Some believe that they move from KNP to other parks around it...

Does any one know if there are brown hyenas in KNP and if anyone has seen them can they please say where. As i am hoping to see one on my trip. I here there are but they are extremely rare can anyone confirm for me

I think you will have to be very lucky to see one! Most of those who claim to know (and I am not one) are not certain of its status in the Park. It may not be permanently resident - but if it is it is rare but most likely to be seen in the north west.

They are also apparently more nocturnal than the common spotted hyaena thus less likely to be seen.

If you really want to see one the KNP is not the place to visit!

Richard

We thought we had a fleeting sighting near Satara about 10 years ago. I agree that if you want to see them, do not go to KNP.

There is a game reserve next to Sun City where I have seen them more often

Try Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Think it is your best bet.

If I remember correctly there's one hanging around Nossob camp. Seen a few times (by other people )during my visit in April 2006.

Johann you are right - we also saw that brown hyaena from the hide at Nossob. In fact it was the only brown hyaena we saw in the 15 days we spent in KTP, a fact which astounded me as I thought they were fairly common there.

I saw one at the waterhole at Grootkolk camp (KTP) last month. Unfortunately, it was too dark to take photos.

I also agree with Johann. We we saw a brown hyena in february this year at Bitterpan drinking from the waterhole.

The hyena was chased away by some oryx and returned after the oryx finished drinking.

We found footprints of brown hyena in our Mabuasehube camping ground, too.