{"id":357946,"date":"2026-03-12T15:58:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T10:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=357946"},"modified":"2026-03-12T15:58:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T10:28:27","slug":"spotted-hyena-crocuta-crocuta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/spotted-hyena-crocuta-crocuta\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>News: <\/strong>A new study by the University of Sheffield found that spotted hyenas in Ethiopia\u2019s Mekelle city reduce waste, carbon emissions, and sanitation risks.<\/p>\n<h2>About Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_357948\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-357948\" style=\"width: 342px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-357948\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Source-Born-Free.jpg?resize=342%2C310&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)\" width=\"342\" height=\"310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Source-Born-Free.jpg?resize=300%2C272&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Source-Born-Free.jpg?resize=768%2C695&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Source-Born-Free.jpg?w=876&amp;ssl=1 876w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 342px) 100vw, 342px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-357948\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source &#8211; Born Free<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>The spotted hyena is the <strong>largest living member of the Hyaenidae family.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>It is a highly <strong>adaptable carnivore<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Scientific Name:<\/strong> The scientific name of the <strong>spotted hyena is <\/strong><strong><em>Crocuta crocuta<\/em><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Habitat:<\/strong> Spotted hyenas live in <strong>savannahs, grasslands, woodlands, semi-deserts, and forest edges.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Distribution: <\/strong>The species is <strong>native to sub-Saharan Africa<\/strong> and is one of the most common large carnivores in Africa.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Characteristics<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Body structure:<\/strong> The animal has a <strong>strong neck and forequarters<\/strong>, a <strong>rounded rump<\/strong>, a <strong>wide head<\/strong> with a <strong>blunt muzzle, and rounded ears<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Coat and build:<\/strong> It has <strong>short fur<\/strong> with irregular <strong>black spots<\/strong> and a robust body with <strong>longer forelimbs than hind limbs<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Size and weight:<\/strong> Adults usually weigh <strong>about 40\u201365 kg<\/strong> and have a body length of <strong>about 95\u2013165 cm.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Clan system:<\/strong> Spotted hyenas live in large clans that can contain up to 80 individuals.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Matriarchal society:<\/strong> Females are larger and dominate males in the social hierarchy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cooperative behaviour:<\/strong> Clan members often hunt, eat, and rest together.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Vocalisation:<\/strong> The species is commonly known as the \u201claughing hyena\u201d because of its distinctive vocal sounds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ecological Role: <\/strong>It helps regulate herbivore populations in ecosystems.\n<ul>\n<li>It consumes carrion and organic waste, reducing disease risk and recycling nutrients.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>IUCN Status:<\/strong> <strong>Least Concern<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Note<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Presence of Hyena family in India:<\/strong> The spotted hyena is <strong>not found in India.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Instead the<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/striped-hyena\/\">striped hyena<\/a> (<\/strong><strong><em>Hyaena hyaena<\/em><\/strong><strong>), <\/strong>a related species, occurs in <strong>Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Protection Status:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Near Threatened<\/strong> by the IUCN<\/li>\n<li><strong>Schedule III of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: A new study by the University of Sheffield found that spotted hyenas in Ethiopia\u2019s Mekelle city reduce waste, carbon emissions, and sanitation risks. About Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) The spotted hyena is the largest living member of the Hyaenidae family. It is a highly adaptable carnivore. Scientific Name: The scientific name of the spotted&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/spotted-hyena-crocuta-crocuta\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10393,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,4182,12039,11834],"tags":[11872],"class_list":["post-357946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-environment","category-knolls","category-species-in-news","tag-9pm-daily-factly","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10393"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357946\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}