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July 17, 2008

The Myth of King Mufasa: Lions & Hyenas

Perhaps you've seen the Disney animated movie, The Lion King.

Lions are often made out to be regal, the kings of the African savannah. Hyenas, on the other hand, are made out to be trixy, thieving and sneaky dogs. (Current-day hyenas have more in common with big cats than dogs, you know.)

The truth is not so simple. The truth is, kill-stealing happens all the time in the wild. For survival.

Stalking, chasing, killing, and protecting a kill all takes vital energy from the hunter. It is also not without risk. The hunter has to leave their den (and little ones behind are left alone) and the hunter risks getting hurt in the hunting process, if the prey strikes back.

The cheetah is an excellent example here: she's the fastest predator on the plains, but after her sprint to catch her dinner, she has to catch her breath for several minutes before she even has the energy to EAT. And in those critical moments, her kill could be taken with little effort by another hungry animal.

A kill site in the wild is a complex place, with a progression of animals showing up for their turn. For example:

A pride of lions brings down a cape buffalo.
They eat the parts they like best. The stomach, etc.
Some hyenas show up. The lions, full or outnumbered, back off.
The hyenas eat what lions cannot. Bones included.
The smaller jackals have been watching and waiting.
Eventually, the hyenas get full, too. Too full to chase the jackals.
The jackals are followed by the vultures.
The vultures are followed by other, smaller, hungry mouths.
Finally, the insects take over.
And lastly, the plants benefit from the nutrients of the remains.

It's true that lions don't particularly like hyenas. And hyenas don't particularly like lions. But this is because they are both the top competitors for food in the ecosystem.

Lion and Hyenas At A Kill.  This photograph was taken on my first trip to Africa. Hyenas confronted a single lion over a giraffe kill. The hyenas won out, but they had probably been the ones to take down the giraffe in the first place, since the single lion was sick with TB and likely a rogue scavenger.

Lions routinely steal kills from hyenas. In fact, when we were first in the Kruger in South Africa, several guides told us that hyenas were bringing down more animals, and the lions were the ones stealing the kills. 

They joked: "Lions are lazy. They let the hyenas do all the work."

That progression I illustrated above could just as easily have started with:

A pack of hyenas take down a cape buffalo.
They eat the parts they like.
A bunch of lions show up, full or outnumbered, they back off.
The lions eat the parts they like.
The jackals have been watching...

You get the picture.

Posted by sorsha at July 17, 2008 2:05 PM