The brown hyena, also called strandwolf, is a species of hyena found in Namibia, Botswana, western and southern Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique and South Africa. It is the only extant species in the genus Parahyaena. It is currently the rarest species of hyena. The largest remaining brown hyena population is located in the southern Kalahari Desert and coastal areas in Southwest Africa. The global population of brown hyena is estimated by IUCN at a number between 4,000 and 10,000 and its conservation status is marked as near threatened in the IUCN Red List.
Brown hyena
A skull at the National Museum of Natural History, National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Brown hyena stealing springbok kill from cheetahs
Brown hyena with food in mouth. Hyenas are master scavengers and are able to completely digest bone matter. Indigestible items containing keratin such as hooves, horns, and hair are regurgitated in pellets.
Hyenas or hyaenas are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae. With just four extant species, it is the fourth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the smallest in the class Mammalia. Despite their low diversity, hyenas are unique and vital components of most African ecosystems.
Hyena
Aardwolf, smallest member of the Hyena family, skeleton. (Museum of Osteology)
Skull of Ictitherium viverrinum, one of the "dog-like" hyenas. American Museum of Natural History
Skeletons of a striped hyena (left) and a spotted hyena (right), two species of the "bone-crushing" hyenas
