MYTH: Hyenas are cowardly scavengers that steal lions’ kills.
FACT: It’s usually the other way around.
The spotted hyena is one of Africa’s most successful hunters. Clans chase down wildebeest, zebra and antelope themselves — in Kruger, studies show they kill as much as 90–95% of what they eat.
So where’s the myth from? Lions. Where the two overlap, lions often steal hyena kills — but because we’re watching the lions, we credit them with the meal and blame the hyena for scrounging.
Add one of the most powerful bites of any mammal, strong enough to crack bone, and clans led by dominant females, and the picture flips.
Cowardly scavenger? Try endurance-hunting matriarch of the savanna.
Pretty incredible, isn’t it?