Hyenas are curious animals because, although evolutionarily they are closer to felines and viverrids, grouping themselves from the taxonomic point of view in Feliformia, their appearance is more similar to certain canids, an appearance that is undoubtedly striking. Throughout time there have been various genera, however, several have become extinct, currently leaving three, which contain the four existing species of hyenas. In this article on our site, we present you information this time about where hyenas liveBe sure to read it so you know what kind of habitat they develop in.
Distribution of hyenas
Hyenas are mainly distributed in the African contain One of the species, however, also extends into aAsian area Depending on the species, hyenas are typical of particular regions, then we will find out their distribution.
Brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea)
This hyena is considered endemic to southern Africa, with greater expansion in certain areas than others in the region. In this sense it is native to:
- Angola
- Botswana
- Namibia
- South Africa
- Zimbabwe
It has also been reported with an uncertain presence in Eswatini and Mozambique.
Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)
In the case of the striped hyena, it has a very wide and irregular distribution range, which not only covers the entire north of Africa, but goes down almost to the south and extends to Asia. Your region of origin corresponds to:
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Armenia
- Cameroon
- Chad
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Ethiopia
- Georgia
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Jordan
- Kenya
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Mali
- Morocco
- Nepal
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Syria
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Occidental Sahara
- Yemen
It has an uncertain presence among other regions such as the Central African Republic, Guinea, Kuwait, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.
Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)
This type of hyena has a wide but irregular distribution from south of the Sahara to West and Central Africa. She is native to:
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Cameroon
- Chad
- Congo
- Ivory Coast
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Kenya
- Mali
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Garden Wolf (Proteles cristata)
Also known as the termite-eating hyena, it has a more discreet distribution specifically in East and Northeast Africa. Its native range includes:
- Angola
- Botswana
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Kenya
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Somalia
- South Africa
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Hyena Habitat
Once we have seen where hyenas live, we are going to talk about what is the habitat of hyenas. In this way, we are going to expose each of them in an orderly manner.
- The brown hyena: grows in dry habitats, with very little rainfall in the year, less than 100 mm. In this sense, it lives in coastal areas of the south, semi-desert spaces, thickets, open savannahs of the wooded type, in which rainfall is higher. It also extends to populated and cultivated areas. Preferentially opt for the mountainous areas of the rocky type where there are bushy spaces to rest.
- The striped hyena: its habitat is made up of open areas or thorny bushy spaces, characterized by being arid or semi-arid. Although it can extend to areas of the Sahara, it avoids open ecosystems, as well as those of the forest type or dense vegetation and very high mountains. However, in countries such as Lebanon and Jordan it is present in oak forests, and has also been seen at heights of about 3,200 meters This type of hyena, Because she is not afraid of humans, she is used to being associated with human villages.
- The spotted hyena: it is more general in terms of habitat, since it can develop in semi-deserts and savannahs, but also in forests of open, dense and dry type. Similarly, we can also see it in highlands of around 4,100 meters above sea level Although they are tolerant to long periods without drinking, they require a minimum amount of water, so it disperses from areas where liquid is in short supply altogether. It can also live near human concentrations.
- The aardwolf: lives in open grassy plains and has no presence in forests or extreme deserts. It also lives in thickets, savannah forests and gravel plains, it can live in areas with a lack of water, since it supplies this requirement with its food. Moves to elevations of about 2,000 meters
You may also be interested in reading What do hyenas eat? And how do hyenas hunt? in the following articles that we suggest from our site.
Protected areas for hyenas
Depending on the species, hyenas may inhabit certain protected areas in their native regions. The brown hyena, for example, develops to a greater extent in unprotected areas, which has led to it being considered almost threatened by direct hunting in these unregulated spaces, since it is erroneously considered dangerous for livestock, although this risk is really low.
The other species of hyenas have a greater presence in protected areas, although in certain countries they are also distributed in places that are not.
An incongruous aspect is that some places identified as protected grant licenses to hunt these animals, which are known as game reserves. From our site, we do not support hunting under any circumstances.
Some protected areas where hyenas are found are:
- Namib-Naukluft Conservation Area (C. A.).
- A. C. Skeleton Coast.
- A. C. Tsau//Khaeb (Sperrgebiet).
- Etosha National Park (N. P.) (Namibia).
- Q. Kgalagadi transboundary N. (South Africa, Botswana).
- Q. N. of Makgadikgadi (Botswana).
- Q. N. Pilanesberg (South Africa).
- Q. N. Serengeti (Tanzania).
- Shamwari Game Reserve (R. C.) (Eastern Cape, South Africa).
- R. C. Central Kalahari (Botswana).
- R. C. Maswa.
