Striped hyaena

The striped hyaena (Hyaena hyaena) is a widespread small carnivore. It is native to North and East Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. It is listed by the IUCN as near threatened, and the global population may be under 10,000 mature individuals. It is persecuted, and its prey base is declining.^[1]

Striped hyena Temporal range: 0.7–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Middle Pleistocene – Recent
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Suborder:	Feliformia
Family:	Hyaenidae
Genus:	Hyaena
Species:	H. hyaena
Binomial name
Hyaena hyaena (Linnaeus, 1758) [2]
Striped hyena range
Synonyms[3]
List Canis hyaena Linnaeus, 1758 Hyaena antiquorum (Temminck, 1820) Hyaena barbara de Blainville, 1844 Hyaena bergeri Matschie, 1910 Hyaena bilkiewiczi Satunin, 1905 Hyaena bokcharensis Satunin, 1905 Hyaena dubbah Meyer, 1793 Hyaena dubia Schinz, 1821 Hyaena fasciata Thunberg, 1820 Hyaena hienomelas Matschie, 1900 Hyaena hyaenomelas (Bruce In Desmarest, 1820) Hyaena indica de Blainville, 1844 Hyaena orientalis Tiedemann, 1808 Hyaena rendilis Lönnberg, 1912 Hyaena satunini Matschie, 1910 Hyaena schillingsi Matschie, 1900 Hyaena striata Zimmermann, 1777 Hyaena suilla Filippi, 1853 Hyaena sultana Pocock, 1934 Hyaena syriaca Matschie, 1900 Hyaena virgata Ogilby, 1840 Hyaena vulgaris Desmarest, 1820 Hyaena zarudnyi Satunin, 1905

It is the smallest of its genus and has many primitive viverrid characteristics which are lost in the larger species.^[4] For example, it has a smaller and less specialised skull.^[5][6]

It is mainly a scavenger, but large individuals may kill their own prey.^[7] Attacks on humans are rare, but do happen.^[6] The striped hyena is a monogamous animal, with both males and females assisting one another in raising their cubs.^[6] A nocturnal animal, the striped hyena only comes out in complete darkness, and is quick to return to its lair before sunrise.^[6] It has a habit of feigning death when attacked. boars, tortoises, Mongolian wild ass, porcupines, It has also been known to stand its ground against larger predators such as leopards in disputes over food.^[8]

The striped hyaena features prominently in Middle Eastern and Asian folklore. It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, where it is referred to as tzebua or zevoa, though the species is absent in some English translations.^[9]