Description: Photo of brown hyaena Tags: brown hyaena; brown; hyaena; hyena

Photo Ingrid Wiesel - 25 November 2004

Brown hyaena
Hyaena brunnea (Thunberg, 1820)

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Hyaenidae

Genus: Hyaena
Species: brunnea

Description: Spoor - Brown Hyaena Tags: Spoor, brown Hyaena, hyaena, brown, hyena

The English name refers to the general dark brown colour of its pelage. It is also known as the strandjut or strandwolf (Afrikaans) in Southern Africa, a clear reference to their habit of frequenting beaches (Afrikaans = strand) – such as in Namibia, in search of carrion. The brown hyaena is obviously not a wolf. Compared to the more rounded ears of the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta), the brown hyaena has pointed ears.
The brown hyaena is predominantly a scavenger and its diet includes a wide range of small mammals, birds, reptiles, fruit, and insects.

Literature
Skinner, J.D. and Smithers, R.H.N., 1990. The Mammals of the Southern African subregion. University of Pretoria, South Africa. 



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