Tanzania: Serenegeti NP – Spotted Hyenas
There are about 27,000 spotted hyenas in the entire world, spread over many countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. But the highest concentration in the world is right here in the Serengeti National Park – over 7000 individual, or 25% of the global population! Exploring the Serengeti Plains, you can see groups of them – from a couple to dozens – roaming around the flat landscape. We also saw quite a large concentration near a large den, and another large group attempting (unsuccessfully) to hunt flamingoes. Hyena clans are dominated by females, who are two times heavier with triple the testosterone level of males (both females and males have external penis-like body parts that are practically indistinguishable. More active at night, they spend most of the day lounging around, often looking for pools of water to lie in and soak their butts (their diet high in calcium from bones and rotten meat results in hyena developing hemorrhoids).
