Hyena Side Rescue

Throughout my volunteering, I’ve never before had the opportunity to consider the smell of a Hyena (Crocuta crocuta), but after experiencing it first-hand I can confirm that it is far from pleasant. The reward for enduring this olfactory assault reminiscent of long-rotting meat was that following a lone female hyena was worth it. We were continuing our conservation research by following one of our focus animals, known here as Tiya. After a brief nap in the sandy road (taking a few minutes respite from her mothering duties), Tiya led us to a den she shares with two other females and four pups. At dusk the curious pups emerged from the mouth of the den one by one as our vehicle stopped nearby, then made their way to investigate us by smell, sight and touch as they carefully paced around the vehicle, alternating between sniffing, staring into our faces and biting the tires. We watched their behavior as they wrestled and played for over an hour, chewing on one another’s ears, tugging at opposite ends of a piece of dried animal hide, and engaging in general puppy-like silliness. We were so wrapped up in their antics that we managed to totally drain the truck battery with our spotlight, leaving us in need of a bush rescue. This only added to the fun of the evening, giving us an extra half hour to watch the pups at play and the amazing stars of the moonless southern sky while we waited for our fresh battery to arrive. By that time, we were so enjoying our time with the hyena clan that we forgot to even notice the smell.


Amber Herzog Lyman, Volunteer, UK

Hyena Side Rescue